4 Under the Radar Players Toronto Maple Leafs Should Trade For

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 29: Ilya Mikheyev #65 of the Toronto Maple Leafs attempts to make a shot on goal against Alex Nedeljkovic #39 and Marc Staal #18 of the Detroit Red Wings in the first period of the game at Little Caesars Arena on January 29, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

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TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 30: Marc Staal #18 of the Detroit Red Wings skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs . (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Marc Staal

I’ve talked about Marc Staal a lot recently, but it’s for good reason.

In my opinion, Toronto needs to add as many veteran defenseman as possible on cheap contracts for the playoff-run. They can’t rely on Travis Dermott, Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin every night and could use more stability in the room.

At 35-years-old, he isn’t the player he used to be, but he still has size and an intimidation factor.

As an Ontario kid without a Stanley Cup ring, you’d think that joining a team like Toronto would increase his energy levels and help motivate him to play his best hockey in a while. The Toronto Maple Leafs are still a young group, so continuing to add players like Staal into the dressing room will be good.

Also, the team isn’t going to ask Staal to play 25 minutes per night. Instead, he would be a reliable player for 15 minutes per night and could hold down the fort in penalty-kill situations as well.

Adding Staal would be great insurance as the team needs as much depth as possible.

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