No. 2: Dougie Hamilton
The big-name defenseman from Toronto is a UFA this offseason and will be asking for a ton of money. However, would Hamilton take a hometown discount to play in front of friends and family?
Probably not, but let’s dream.
Hamilton is the best defenseman available in free agency and would look perfect on the Leafs blue-line. After Toronto originally traded away the pick that turned into Hamilton, it feel great to se him finally get to play for the Leafs.
Hamilton is everything you want out of a defenseman. He has great size, can play any situation and can score goals. He has the ability to play 30 minutes per night in a tough playoff series if you want, and that’s something the Toronto Maple Leafs don’t currently have.
In order to acquire Hamilton, the team would have to ship out Morgan Rielly and at this current moment, it seems unlikely. But as we’ve alluded to before, these are all dream scenarios. If you had to ship out Rielly in order to acquire Hamilton, I’d do it, if the price was right.
Spending $10M on Hamilton would be a terrible decision but if they were able to get him for $8M, then I say do it.
You need a number-one defenseman to win a Stanley Cup and Toronto doesn’t currently have that, so in a dream-world, they should do everything they can to make it happen.