Toronto Maple Leafs: Looking At Some Possible Justin Holl Trades

Toronto Maple Leafs Trade With The St. Louis Blues

Now, unlike the Kings, the St. Louis Blues are having a great start to their season. With that being said, they only have three defensemen signed beyond this season. They have shown interest in Holl before and might see him as a good option for them on their third defensive pair for next season.

The next question then becomes, who will Toronto target from the Blues lineup? Many reports indicate that Toronto is interested in Robert Bortuzzo. Now, Bortuzzo only has one point in seven games , but he has much better corsi numbers. This means the team has control of the puck more often when he’s on the ice.

Another thing to point out is that Bortuzzo would give the Leafs the sandpaper they lost from their defense when Zach Bogosian left for Tampa Bay. If you try to compare Bortuzzo’s hit numbers to Holl’s hit numbers, you’ll see that they are not that far apart. The main difference is Holl averages almost seven minutes of ice time more than Bortuzzo. If Bortuzzo played as much as Holl, his hit totals would be much higher. Bortuzzo is clearly the grittier of the two and he could help to make Toronto harder to play against.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Bortuzzo, he would be a rental for this season. He becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer, but while he’s here he would offer Toronto $625,000 in cap space.

To Toronto: Robert Bortuzzo, 2022 4th Round Pick

To St. Louis: Justin Holl