Maple Leafs defenceman Luke Schenn has heard the trade talk linking him to a deal with the Philadelphia Flyers but he’s not letting them get to him.

“It doesn’t really mean much,” Schenn, 21, said. “They’re just rumours and I’m happy being here in Toronto.

“In the 3½ years that I’ve been here there has been a few rumours about trades that were going to happen. They come up every year somehow.”

The latest speculation out of Philadelphia has Schenn being sent there as part of a package of players so he can play with his brother Brayden.

It’s no secret that Leafs GM Brian Burke would jump at getting Philly winger James van Riemsdyk. He was drafted second overall behind No. 1 pick Patrick Kane in the 2007 entry draft. He scored 21 goals and had 19 assists last season for the Flyers and had a strong playoff run, scoring 7 goals in 11 games but has struggled at times this season. In 37 games, he’s scored 11 goals and added 11 assists.

Van Riemsdyk signed a six-year contract extension in the offseason at $4.25 million a season.

Don Luce, the Flyers director of player development, was reportedly at the Air Canada Centre on Thursday for Leafs 2-0 win over Buffalo and he’s expected to be at the First Niagara Centre for Friday’s rematch. Luce, however, also lives in Buffalo so his presence at the game might not mean much.

Schenn agreed to a five-year contract worth a reported $3.5 million per season just hours before the start of training camp. Despite not having a signed deal, Schenn spent much of August practising with the team during unofficial workouts, telling reporters that he had no intention of signing anywhere else.

He scored 5 goals and 17 assists playing in all 82 games last season, his third as a Maple Leaf since being selected fifth overall in the first round of the 2008 draft from the Kelowna Rockets. He’s played in 271 games for Toronto.

Considered to be Leafs shutdown defenceman of the future, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Schenn got off to a slow start and was benched for the Nov. 5 game at home against Boston Bruins. But he’s played a regular shift since then although his minutes have been cut on many nights.

He played just two shifts in the third period against Detroit last Saturday.

Schenn has one goal and 11 assists this season in 41 games with a plus 7, averaging about just over 16 minutes of ice time each game. Last year he played more than 22 minutes each game.

He led all defenceman with 251 hits last season and is second among NHL blueliners this season with 125.

Leafs GM Brian Burke told a SportsNet Prime Time Sports on Wednesday that he was looking to make a deal well before the Feb. 27 trade deadline.

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He’s looking for a front line centre or a big, strong winger, players with playoff experience.

Such a player is likely to cost Leafs at least one player or two from his current roster, a prospect and a first round draft pick. Burke has said he would be willing to trade a first round pick if he can get a player he covets.

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