No. 4: Seth Jones:
Jones currently makes $5.4M and is a pending UFA. If the Leafs traded for him, they could risk losing him to free agency in a year, but at the same time, this is win-now mode, so why not take the risk?
With the cap-space that Toronto has this offseason, the team would be able to afford Jones’ salary for one year and they potentially wouldn’t even have to trade Alex Kerfoot. They probably wouldn’t be able to re-sign Hyman, but it would legitimize their top-four even more than what it is.
Toronto could go with the following defensive pairings if Jones was added:
- Morgan Rielly – T.J. Brodie
- Jake Muzzin – Seth Jones
- Rasmus Sandin – Justin Holl
Sandin’s strong-side is the right side, but he’s been known to play the left side before, so it wouldn’t be an issue. Even though Toronto’s defense was much improved this year, adding another legitimate top-four defenseman would only add to this roster and help the depth.
Jones has a pretty good shot that Toronto could use on the powerplay, but also has size that makes him a tough defender to play against. Overall, Jones is someone you want on your team and since he already said he wasn’t re-signing in Columbus after the 2021-22 season, Toronto may be able to get him for a bargain.