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4 Defenseman the Toronto Maple Leafs May Target in Trade

By Jordan Maresky

TORONTO, ON-Toronto-DUBAS.The Maple Leafs announced today the promotion of Kyle Dubas to General Manager. Brendan Shanahan was on hand for the announcement..May 11, 2018. (Rene Johnston/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON-Toronto-DUBAS.The Maple Leafs announced today the promotion of Kyle Dubas to General Manager. Brendan Shanahan was on hand for the announcement..May 11, 2018. (Rene Johnston/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
General manager Kyle Dubas of the Toronto Maple Leafs l- (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The Toronto Maple Leafs would enjoy an upgrade to their defense corps.

When the NHL announced their season has been paused back on March 12, many Toronto Maple Leaf fans were left wondering what it meant for the salary cap for the 2020 – 21 season and how it would affect their team.

With a little more clarity on the salary cap projection for next season, it is clear any upgrade Kyle Dubas wants to make to this blueline will have to come in the form of a dollar-in-dollar-out deal.

As such,  Toronto (always assuming they even actually want to upgrade their blue-line) will most likely be looking for defensemen who are undervalued on their respective teams, have a low cap hit, and have above-average defensive instincts.

The Toronto Maple Leafs recently added KHL star defenseman Mikko Lehtonen, and still need to re-sign Travis Dermott.  They also have Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, Justin Holl, Rasmus Sandin, and Timothy Liljegren.

Even without re-signing Cody Ceci or Tyson Barrie, the Leafs have seven solid candidates for next year’s blue-lines in the house already.  So there is a good chance they do not pursue another defenseman.

On the other hand, teams are always looking to upgrade, and the Leafs may not be comfortable with the current makeup of their blue line.

The following four players do not receive enough credit for their work in the defensive end and could potentially be had for a relatively small package.

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