Carson Trask
It is no secret the Toronto Maple Leafs need more right shot D-men.
With Roman Polak gone (thank god), Nikita Zaitzev is the only right-shot defenceman guaranteed to be in the opening night lineup. I think Connor Carrick should get more of an opportunity, but Mike Babcock doesn’t seem to fully trust him at this point. And, Timothy Liljegren may need another year with the Marlies.
Which brings us to my dream player for the Leafs to add; Colton Parayko.
At just 25 years old, Parayko fits right into the Leafs young core. A 6 foot 6 right shot defenseman who can chip in offensively doesn’t grow on trees. A cap hit of just $5.5 million for the next 4 seasons makes him even more of an attractive trade chip. Captain Alex Pietrangelo has two years left on his deal and will be looking for a big pay day, which may force the Blues to make Parayko available. Parayko would cost a lot for the Leafs to acquire, but it would be worth it.
I am not a part of the group that thinks the Leafs D is terrible. But at the same time, their D still scares me. Too many times have third period leads slipped away to be fully confident in this group.
The Leafs need some help on the back end, preferably a right hand shot. Parayko would cost the Leafs some of their young players (anyone not named Marner, Nylander, Mathews) but that’s fine. The Leafs will have their young core locked in and everyone else around them are interchangeable cheap pieces.
The Leafs are a Stanley Cup contender, right now with where their roster is. Adding Tavares will help the team defence, but it still worries me.
I think they should look to add to that group.