Toronto Maple Leafs Rental Options
Kyle Dubas has stated that he would prefer acquiring players with term over rentals, but he is not opposed to the idea. If the right player is available and Dubas thinks that player can help this team win, it won’t matter if they’re a rental or not. Here is a look at some of the rental options that Dubas might look at acquiring.
Keith Yandle
Keith Yandle of the Philadelphia Flyers is the NHL’s newest Ironman after playing more than 965 consecutive games. An incredible streak that he started back in 2009. Yandle has a salary cap hit of $900,000 that expires after this season.
(Salary Cap info from Capfriendly.com)
He is a left-shooting defenseman that the Leafs could primarily play on the bottom pair. When needed, Yandle can play more minutes in the top four. It is a smart depth addition if Jake Muzzin gets hurt again. Yandle does have a no-trade clause, so he would have to waive that for any deal to happen.
Zdeno Chara
After many seasons of battling against the NHL’s Beast in the East, the Toronto Maple Leafs would gladly have Zdeno Chara on their side. The 6’9″ Chara might be 44 years old, but he can still average 18 minutes of ice time per game.
After seeing the New York Islanders do well in last season’s playoffs, Chara returning to them after 19 seasons seemed like a good fit. However, the Islanders are not a playoff team this season, and Chara might be looking for one last run at winning another Stanley Cup.
Chara has a salary cap hit of $750,000 that expires after this season. This is a contract that Dubas could easily add without subtracting much from his current roster.