No. 1: Ben Chiarot
Why wouldn’t the Leafs want to trade for a 6-foot-3, 235 pound defenseman who played significant minutes for the Montreal Canadiens, who went to the Stanley Cup Finals last year?
Well, he’s not that good.
Not only has Chiarot been one of the worst players in the NHL this year, but the Leafs absolutely feasted on him last year in the playoffs, outshooting Montreal by more than 40 shots with him on the ice.
At $3.5M, you can find someone way better than him. When he’s on the ice, he’s typically chasing the puck and was bailed out by one of the best goaltenders in the world last year.
You can argue that any of the Canadiens’ defenseman, beside Shea Weber, weren’t that valuable to the team and that it had all to do with Carey Price. By taking Weber and Price out of the line-up, the team went from being in the Stanley Cup Finals to being the worst team in the league.
Chariot is over-valued because of his size and doesn’t provide any offensive upside. You’d essentially be trading a first-round pick for a left-handed shooting Justin Holl, and that’s not going to solve any of Toronto’s issue.