Toronto Maple Leafs: The Top 3 Remaining UFAs at Every Position

Top 3 Defensemen

1. Jason Demers

Age: 33
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 195 lbs
Shoots: Right
2020-21 AAV: $4,500,000

Teams are always looking for right shooting defensemen. With just this asset, Demers’ name will likely be spoken by most, if not all NHL GMs this offseason. He is a player that won’t put up impressive offensive numbers but he will help limit them in opposing players.

At 5-on-5, Demers was solid. He had a Corsi-for rating of 50.0, which was 1.2 percent better than his team. With those possession numbers, it’s no wonder why 55.2 percent of his starts came in the defensive zone.

2. Sami Vatanen

Age: 30
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 185 lbs
Shoots: Left
2020-21 AAV: $2,000,000

In the past, there have been calls for the Toronto Maple Leafs to add Sami Vatanen to the roster. That’s because Vatanen has shown that he can inject offense into a lineup from the backend. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case last season. Vatanen had just six points in 39 games last year playing for the Devils and Dallas Stars.

Vatanen’s drop off will surely hurt his wallet. There will be teams interested in adding the blueliner to help them on the right side and their powerplay but at a smaller ticket than he had last season.

3. Erik Gudbranson

Age: 29
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 217 lbs
Shoots: Right
2020-21 AAV: $4,000,000

There is great value in having a towering defender who can use their lumber to swipe pucks away and their physical stature to clear the front of their net. Erik Gudbranson can do that, which is why it’s surprising that the New York Rangers haven’t already signed him in their offseason strategy to conquer Tom Wilson. Expect Gudbranson to land with a club for a fraction of the money he earned last season.

With the group of UFAs that currently remain unsigned, it appears as though Toronto won’t be looking at adding any of the big names. If they do dip into the pool, expect it to be for a depth piece and not much more.