No. 1: Leafs Bolster Their Defensive Depth
The Trade:
- Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: Vince Dunn ($1.875M)
- St. Louis Blues acquire: Pierre Engvall ($1.25M), Kenny Agostino ($737K), 2021 third round pick
- Notes: 2021 third round pick turns into a 2021 second round pick if Dunn re-signs in Toronto
Although the first two trades we spoke about were realistic, the acquisition of someone like Vince Dunn seems the likeliest.
Toronto should be happy with how their defense has played this year but they shouldn’t be complacent. Nobody hopes that any more injures will ensue, but as we saw during the 2020 NHL Playoffs, random injuries can happen at any time.
When the Leafs lost Jake Muzzin for the remainder of the series, it almost felt like they’d already lost against Columbus. He was such an important piece to the roster and the team didn’t have enough depth to support that type of loss.
As a result, the Leafs need to bolster their defensive depth and get another quality player. Dunn has been in trade rumors all season and at $1.875M, there’s not too many better defenseman out there that Toronto can afford.
The 24-year-old defenseman wasn’t the key piece on the St. Louis Blues championship team in 2018-19, but he did average roughly 15 minutes of ice-time per night in the playoffs. That’s significant time and that experience would be vital on the Leafs blue-line.
Toronto currently has Bogosian and Muzzin as former Stanley cup winners on their blue-line, but it wouldn’t hurt to add another. Although it’s cliché, experience truly matters and having someone who played in a Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final can be very impactful in huge moments.
The Leafs would be very smart to look at Dunn and try to add another defenseman before the NHL Trade Deadline this year.