Jared Spurgeon
Jared Spurgeon could be the player we have all been waiting for. The Leafs are in desperate need of a right handed defensemen who can adequately defend and move the puck.
What does Spurgeon bring to the Toronto Maple Leafs
Jared Spurgeon is a complete player. He is a strong skater, and has an offensive touch which helped him snag 37 points in 61 games last season. One of Spurgeon’s biggest assets is his ability to exit out of his own zone. Last year the Leafs had a lot of trouble doing this when Nikita Zaitsev, Ron Hainsey or Roman Polak had the puck. Surely, acquiring Spurgeon would help in this department.
Spurgeon might be listed at only 5’9, but he certainly doesn’t know that. Spurgeon plays a physical, big game when necessary. He is a strong one-on-one defender thanks to his skating ability and gap control. As a bonus, here is a fun GIF of Spurgeon perfectly staying with former Leaf Joey Crabb before hammering him into the boards.
Spurgeon finished with 23 takeaways last season, which would have put him in third among Leafs defensemen behind only Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly. He was able to put up great numbers at even strength despite facing the some of the toughest competition when compared to other right handed defensemen in the league.
Another issue with the Leafs was their penalty killing. Ron Hainsey spent full powerplays on the ice due to Babcock’s lack of trust in the rest of his defensemen. Jared Spurgeon would also help in this department. He ranked second on the Wild in penalty killing minutes per game behind only Ryan Suter. The Wild penalty kill was eighth in the league last season and Spurgeon was a big reason for that.
How can the Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Jared Spurgeon?
The best option to acquire Spurgeon is to ingest a bad contract from the Wild. Tyler Ennis is currently signed for one more year at 4.6M. Since the Wild need to sign RFA’s Jason Zucker and Matt Dumba, they could be looking to free up some space. The Leafs will probably have to put a package together to make this deal happen but they have pieces which could interest the Wild.
Connor Brown would be the most ideal “roster player” to include in the package. The Leafs would also have to give up a decent prospect but with Spurgeon making 5.18M for only two more years, it could be worth the risk. This type of trade would provide the Leafs with a top four right handed defenseman while giving Timothy Liljegren, Igor Ozhiganov and Sean Durzi time to develop.