Toronto Maple Leafs: 10 Defenseman Not Named Pietrangelo to Pursue

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SUNRISE, FL – DECEMBER 15: Aaron Ekblad #5 of the Florida Panthers and Mitch Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs battle behind the net during second period action at the BB&T Center on December 15, 2018 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /

#1. Aaron Ekblad

If the Leafs added Ekblad, it would give them three number-one overall picks on their roster (Auston Matthews – 2016, John Tavares – 2009, Aaron Ekblad – 2014). They’re bound to win a Stanley Cup with that amount of talent!

Joking aside, the former Calder Trophy winner is the prototypical number-one defenseman. At 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, he has size and can contribute offensively. After signing Sergei Bobrovsky to a monster contract, the team may look to move on from Ekblad to clear space for some offensive help.

The Panthers on the verge of losing a few of their top-scorers to Free Agency, so if that happens, they’ll need to rebuild their forward depth. The Toronto Maple Leafs have a few forwards they could part with, if it meant acquiring a defenseman like Ekblad. Although he has a $7.5M cap-hit for the next five seasons, he’s going to be in his prime for the entire contract, so it’ll worth the money.

While no team actively wants to trade a young, former first-overall player on the verge of superstardom, the Panthers were in financial trouble before the NHL shutdown, and they will be looking to cut costs in the upcoming off season.

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Pietrangelo and Ekblad are similar height, weight and play a similar style of hockey. Ekblad actually has a better upside from a goal-scoring perspective, so trading for him may be a better option long-term for the Toronto Maple Leafs than signing Pietrangelo, who will be past his prime by the middle-to-end of his contract.

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