4. T.J. Brodie
Here’s another player that’s been linked to the Leafs for a while.
T.J. Brodie initially was almost the player coming back in exchange for Nazem Kadri, before the team decided to ship him to Colorado for Tyson Barrie.
The Toronto Maple Leafs may have missed out on him there, but they have another opportunity this summer.
T.J. Brodie has been a defensive backbone for the Flames and will surely be looking for a pay raise this offseason. With a current cap hit of $4,650,400, his price may soar up to even $7 million, but that may be a gamble the Leafs are willing to take.
There’s only two issues here with the Leafs chasing after Brodie.
For one, Brodie is another left-handed defenseman when the Leafs would traditionally want a right-handed defenseman. As well, as James Mirtle of the Athletic reported near the Trade Deadline, Brodie had listed the Leafs on his no-trade list.
Of note on T.J. Brodie: He has the Leafs listed on his no-go section of his no-trade list. Toronto tried to acquire him last June in a Kadri deal.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) January 24, 2020
This may mean coming to Toronto via free agency isn’t in his interests, but either way, the Leafs considered adding him once before, so he very well could still be a target for Toronto, if they can convince him.