Top 3 Defensemen the Toronto Maple Leafs Should Trade For
The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the NHL’s best teams and will be looking to upgrade their roster at the trade deadline.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been without Jake Muzzin and Justin Holl lately, and if it wasn’t apparent before, it’s clear now that they could use an upgrade on their blue-line.
They were without Jake Muzzin against the New York teams, who may be their best defensive defenseman, but even with Muzzin in the line-up, the Leafs look like they need some help on the back end. Muzzin has also gone down during two consecutive playoffs and no one on the Toronto Maple Leafs was able to step up and fill his role.
The Toronto Maple Leafs biggest need is another Jake Muzzin or someone better.
Top 3 Defensemen the Toronto Maple Leafs Should Target for Trade
When looking for potential trade targets for the Toronto Maple Leafs, I looked for a few different criteria. What I think the Leafs need the most is a big strong aggressive defenseman who can clear the front of the net and block shots.
The Toronto Maple Leafs should also target a defenseman that doesn’t give the puck away easily as Toronto actually has the third most 5-on-5 giveaways in the NHL this season behind only the Montreal Canadiens and the Anaheim Ducks.
I’m also looking mainly at upcoming unrestricted free agents on non-playoff teams since those will be the players that will be the easiest and cheapest to acquire by the Toronto Maple Leafs. They don’t have a lot of cap room to commit to additional players for next season especially if they re-sign Jack Campbell.
Here are the top 3 defensemen the Toronto Maple Leafs should target for trade:
Ilya Lyubushkin – Arizona Coyotes
Height: 6’2
Weight: 201 lbs
Shoots: Right
Age: 27
Blocked Shots: 51
Hits: 80
Giveaways: 12
Average Ice-Time: 17:57
Games Played: 39
Contract: $1.35 Million (UFA next season)
Ilya Lyubushkin is a very underrated defenseman hidden away on one of the NHL’s worst teams. He’s currently playing in his fourth NHL season all with the Coyotes. He’s not the kind of player that’s going to create a lot of offense. He only has one goal and 15 assists in 173 career NHL games.
Lyubushkin is not huge, but he’s a bigger than average player at 6’2. Only two of the Leafs regular defensemen are taller: Jake Muzzin (6’3) and Justin Holl (6’4). He’s a right-handed shot which the Leafs need and his $1.35 million salary is very affordable and the Toronto Maple Leafs should be able to offer him an extension if they desire.
To put some of his numbers into perspective, Lyubushkin’s 51 blocked shots are tied with T.J. Brodie and Justin Holl who lead the Toronto Maple Leafs in blocked shots. His 80 hits would lead the Leafs as Nick Ritchie has the current lead with 79 and Jake Muzzin is second with 74.
Lyubushkin’s 12 giveaways this season are less than any regular defenseman on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Morgan Rielly has 40, Jake Muzzin has 39, T.J. Brodie has 27, Justin Holl has 25, Rasmus Sandin has 17, Travis Dermott has 16 and Timothy Liljegren has 15.
I may have had Ilya Lyubushkin a little higher in this list if it weren’t for his 17:57 minutes of average ice-time which is significantly less than anyone in the Toronto Maple Leafs top four, but playing less time makes his totals for hits and blocked shots even more impressive.
His giveaways per 60 minutes are nearly twice as good as any defenseman on the Leafs. Jake Muzzin is actually the worst on the Leafs defense with 3.13 giveaways per 60, Rasmus Sandin is the best with 1.95 giveaways per 60 while Ilya Lyubushkin has only 1.03 giveaways per 60.
Ilya Lyubushkin is deserving of more ice-time and would be a great fit beside Jake Muzzin on the Toronto Maple Leafs shut down pair. He’s also on the top penalty-killing unit in Arizona and would likely also be in Toronto.
The Arizona Coyotes are currently sitting last in the West and second last in the entire NHL. They’re certainly going to be deadline sellers and with many teams going for higher profile players, Ilya Lyubushkin may be a player that could be acquire relatively cheap.
Justin Braun – Philadelphia Flyers
Height: 6’2
Weight: 203 lbs
Shoots: Right
Age: 34
Blocked Shots: 82
Hits: 50
Giveaways: 17
Average Ice-Time: 19:48
Games Played: 41
Contract: $1.8 Million (UFA next season)
Justin Braun is a 12 year NHL veteran with 100 games of valuable NHL Playoff experience. He’s been to the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals and the 2019 Conference Finals both with the San Jose Sharks.
Braun is 34 years-old, but he still has a lot to give. He’s on an affordable $1.8 million contract and probably won’t demand any more than that if the Leafs choose to offer him an extension. He plays top four minutes with the Philadelphia Flyers and shoots right.
He currently ranks 13th in the NHL among defenseman with 82 blocked shots this season, but Justin Braun has been criticized for not playing physically enough despite his 6’2 frame. His 50 hits this season are less than Jake Muzzin (74), Justin Holl (57) and Rasmus Sandin (54).
With 16 giveaways, Braun has fewer than any Toronto Maple Leafs defender besides Timothy Liljegren (15) who has only played 23 games this season compared to Braun’s 41. Per 60 minutes, he has 1.26 giveaways which is way better than any Leafs defenseman (Sandin leads with 1.95).
It’s a close call between Justin Braun and Ilya Lyubushkin for who would be a better a fit with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Lyubushkin is significantly more physical and gives the puck away a bit less than Braun.
I give Braun the edge because of his superior NHL experience (especially in the playoffs), his shot blocking totals and the fact that he’s shown he can eat up top four minutes. Braun can also contribute more offensively as he has two goals and nine points this season compared to Lyubushkin’s zero goals and six assists. Braun has a powerful shot when he chooses to use it.
Rasmus Ristolainen – Philadelphia Flyers
Height: 6’4
Weight: 220 lbs
Shoots: Right
Age: 27
Blocked Shots: 62
Hits: 128
Giveaways: 14
Average Ice-Time: 21:05
Games Played: 37
Contract: $5.4 Million (UFA next season)
Acquiring Rasmus Ristolainen would be a game-changer for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s a 6’4 giant flowing with physicality. His 128 hits so far this season are third most among NHL defensemen and eighth in the entire NHL. His 62 blocked shots would lead the Leafs and his 14 giveaways are less than any Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman.
His 21:05 minutes of average ice-time is significantly less than Morgan Rielly‘s team leading 24:14, but Ristolainen is pretty close to Jake Muzzin’s 21:22 which is second most on the team.
With two goals and 10 points so far this season, Ristolainen is comparable to Muzzin and Brodie who each have 11 points. Rasmus Ristolainen possesses a powerful shot from the point.
Having a huge physically player like Rasmus Ristolainen on the ice who’s always looking for a hit will also make the Toronto Maple Leafs much harder to play against. That type of player gets into the opponent’s head, and they’ll always have to be aware of when he’s on the ice.
Ristolainen is a very strong skater as well and his 1.08 giveaways per 60 minutes is exceptionally fewer than any defender on the Toronto Maple Leafs. After toiling in Buffalo for eight seasons before joining the flailing Flyers this season, it would be amazing to see what he could do on a contender.
The knock on Rasmus Ristolainen is that he has zero games of NHL Playoff experience, as well as absolutely brutal advanced metrics. He does have 579 games of regular season NHL experience though since coming into the league as a 19 year old after being drafted eighth overall be the Buffalo Sabres in 2012. I think this guy is dying for an opportunity to show what he can do in the playoffs, especially in a contract year.
At $5.4 million, the Toronto Maple Leafs may need to pull off some cap gymnastics to accommodate his cap hit. It may also be tricky to attempt to resign him, but without huge offensive numbers, I could see him signing his next contract for a bit less.
Next. 2 Huge Rental Defensemen the Leafs Could Trade For. dark
There are lots of other rumours out their about the Toronto Maple Leafs looking at acquiring John Klingberg, Josh Mason, P.K. Subban, Ben Chiarot or Mark Giordano, and those players may also help the Leafs, but I don’t think they’re what the team needs the most. Ristolainen, Braun and Lyubushkin are three big defensemen that fit the Leafs needs perfectly.