4 UFA Defenseman Toronto Maple Leafs Should Target

MONTREAL, QC - MAY 24: Goaltender Jack Campbell #36 of the Toronto Maple Leafs defends his net with the help of his teammates Justin Holl #3 and Rasmus Sandin #38 against Corey Perry #94 and Paul Byron #41 of the Montreal Canadiens during the second period in Game Three of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre on May 24, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 14: Alec Martinez #23 of the Vegas Golden Knights . (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Alec Martinez

The price will probably be too high for Martinez, but you never know. With the cap not staying the same for the foreseeable future, a team may be able to get someone like Martinez cheaper than expected.

The two-time Stanley Cup champion is an offensive-threat, who seems to play his best hockey in the postseason. At 33-years-old, he’d be a great fit on the third-pairing of the Leafs defense and could eventually take over a top-two pairing spot if Morgan Rielly doesn’t re-sign next season.

The Golden Knights are incredibly tight to the salary cap right now, so it seems unlikely that Martinez would return to Vegas.

After winning two Stanley Cups and potentially a third this year, I’m sure he’d love to stay in a winning environment and play with a former teammate like Jack Campbell and Jake Muzzin.

As a result, Toronto should pursue him and find out his asking price. If he’s looking for something around $5M, it may make sense to trade Rielly and replace him with Martinez, since Rielly will more than likely be gone in one year anyway.

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