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Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Trade Deadline Wishlist

By Mike Stephens

NEWARK, NJ - JANUARY 12: Radko Gudas #3 of the Philadelphia Flyers plays the puck against the New Jersey Devils during the game at Prudential Center on January 12, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - JANUARY 12: Radko Gudas #3 of the Philadelphia Flyers plays the puck against the New Jersey Devils during the game at Prudential Center on January 12, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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ANAHEIM, CA – JANUARY 23: Alex Pietrangelo #27 of the St. Louis Blues dumps the puck during the game against the Anaheim Ducks on January 23, 2019 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA – JANUARY 23: Alex Pietrangelo #27 of the St. Louis Blues dumps the puck during the game against the Anaheim Ducks on January 23, 2019 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Zoe Mason

The player at the top of my wish list this February is St. Louis Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.

Trade rumours have been circling the Blues captain in the past few weeks as his team continues to struggle through the season. Toronto’s need for solid defence has become desperate; so desperate that personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing a second or third round draft pick and 2017 first round pick, defenseman Timothy Liljegren, sent to St. Louis.

The way I see it, St. Louis isn’t a contender for the cup this year. Pietrangelo hasn’t been producing the way the team would hope, and whispers of toxicity in the locker room are fuelling their interests in moving him. Liljegren has the potential to be a solid addition to their lineup, and they have the time to develop him.

Liljegren alone, however, is still just an undeveloped prospect. The Leafs would have to up the ante with another pick to make this deal enticing. A team in transition, St. Louis would likely jump on the opportunity to draft new talent. Despite Pietrangelo’s less than stellar numbers this season, he is a proven top pair defenseman with playoff experience, both characteristics sorely needed on the Leafs roster; and fast. Liljegren may have the potential for NHL success, but defenseman take notoriously long to develop, and at age 19, Liljegren is nowhere near top pair calibre.

With April looming, a reliable and experienced top pair defenseman is exactly the type of addition that could make the difference between first round elimination and a deep playoff run.

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