3 Defensemen the Toronto Maple Leafs Could Trade For
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made it known that they are buyers as the trade deadline approaches, and one area where they should and might be looking to improve on is the defense.
The Toronto Maple Leafs as we all know have been linked to almost every single available player that is headed to the market as the trade deadline rolls around the corner.
Kyle Dubas announced publicly in his mid-season presser that most of their calls have been about acquiring a forward, keyword “most”. That means they are probably working the phones about defensemen and goalies too but just not as much as trying to acquire that top-six forward.
There have been talks about potentially acquiring defensemen Mattias Ekholm from Nashville, however, since that seems like a longshot, here are three other options.
3. Niklas Hjalmarsson – 33 years old – D
2020-21 stats – 29 GP – 0 G – 4 A – 4 PTS – 44.0 CF%
Career stats – 809 GP – 25 G – 146 A – 171 PTS – 51.2 CF%
Niklas Hjalmarsson is having yet another good year defensively for the Arizona Coyotes, and he may be potentially on the move if the Coyotes aren’t in the playoff mix and are looking to gain assets after losing some draft picks recently. The only problem right now is he is currently listed on the IR, so this would obviously be dependent on his health.
Hjalmarsson, who is 33 years old is in the last year of his two-year deal with Arizona which is carrying an AAV of $5M. Niklas provides no offense but is considered elite at defending.
Currently, in fifth place, and tied with St. Louis for the last playoff spot and only seven points out of second-last in the West Divison, if the Coyotes fall back outside of the playoff picture, could we maybe see them part ways with Hjalmarsson ahead of the trade deadline?
The Toronto Maple Leafs could definitely benefit from a defensive specialist like Hjalmarsson. Per Evolving-Hockey, this season Hjalmarsson ranks third on the Coyotes with a 1.82 GA/60 (goals against per 60 minutes), ranks fourth with a 2.05 xGA/60 (expected goals against per 60 minutes), and he also ranks third with a 26.20 SA/60 (shots against per 60 minutes)
All three of those advanced analytics should be enough to see how good this player has been defensively for the Arizona Coyotes, and even stretching back to when he was a member of the Chicago Blackhawks when they won their three Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013, and 2015. (Stats from Hockey-Reference.com)
2. Jamie Oleksiak – 28 years old – D
2020-21 stats – 32 GP – 3 G – 5 A – 8 PTS – 51.5 CF%
Career stats – 345 GP – 21 G – 45 A – 66 PTS – 50.5 CF%
Jamie Oleksiak is a very intriguing name to me simply because this man is a giant on skates e and he also plays with a physical presence too and I know that will make some Leaf fans very excited to hear.
Oleksiak, just like Hjalmarsson, is having a good year defensively for his team, the Dallas Stars. Although, he’s more on the cheaper side of things when it comes to defensemen compared to guys like Mattias Ekholm, David Savard, and even Niklas Hjalmarsson, as he’s currently in the last year of a three-year deal carrying an AAV of $2.137M.
Jamie Oleksiak isn’t a guy that will put points up on the backend either, he’s more reliable for his defensive game rather than his offensive game. This season on a Dallas team that is known for being well structured defensively, per Evolving-Hockey, he ranks 14th on the team with a 1.96 GA/60 (goals against per 60 minutes), ranks 13th with a 1.80 xGA/60 (expected goals against per 60 minutes), and ranks 17th with a 27.26 SA/60 (shots against per 60 minutes).
Yes, he may not rank in the top 10 of those three analytical categories on the Dallas Stars, but like I said the Stars are a well-structured defensive team and his numbers clearly tell you that he doesn’t need to rank inside the top 10 on Dallas to have good numbers defensively.
Acquiring a guy like Oleksiak, would give the Toronto Maple Leafs more of what they are getting from Bogosian, something that can’t hurt come playoff time.
The reason for acquiring a guy like Hjalmarsson, Oleksiak, or even the next guy on this list, is simply because of the fear of injuries and just improving the back end even more. If a top-four guy like Jake Muzzin or Justin Holl goes down with an injury, I don’t think anyone is comfortable with Dermott or Bogosian sliding into the top-four and then having a guy like Marincin slide into the lineup on the bottom pair. (Stats from Hockey-Reference.com)
1. Jon Merrill – 29 years old – D
2020-21 stats – 30 GP – 0 G – 4 A – 4 PTS – 43.9 CF%
Career stats – 385 GP – 12 G – 53 A – 65 PTS – 50.3 CF%
Jon Merrill is one of the best bang-for-your-buck defensemen that might be potentially available ahead of the trade deadline as he, just like the other two defensemen mentioned in this article, play more of a defensive-styled game instead of an offensive-styled game.
Merrill, who is 29 years old signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings worth $925K in the off-season, which is amazing that he is currently worth less than a million dollars and can definitely fit on every team in the NHL and would very much enjoy his services on the blue line for them.
Just like the other two defensemen, he is a left-shot defenseman rather than a right shot, and that usually doesn’t seem very intriguing to many fans, especially Toronto Maple Leafs fans because they are so desperate for right-shot defensemen back there.
However, Merril is more than reliable to be trusted back there on the blue line as he’s been a very steady defenseman for years now with Vegas and now Detroit. His services would be more than welcomed on this Toronto Maple Leafs team, as I think they should be looking to add at least one more piece back there to really solidify their depth of the defense.
Per Evolving-Hockey, Merrill ranks fourth on the Red Wings with a 1.97 GA/60 (goals against per 60 minutes), ranks third with a 2.02 xGA/60 (expected goals against per 60 minutes), and ranks fifth with a 30.49 SA/60 )shots against per 60 minutes).
Next. Even More Trade Options for the Leafs. dark
For someone who is on a Red Wings team that’s one of the worst teams currently in the NHL, and has been one of the worst teams in the NHL for a couple of seasons now, he’s putting up some pretty good defensive analytic numbers that a lot of teams would love.