Top 8 Defensemen with Term the Toronto Maple Leafs Could Trade For
The Toronto Maple Leafs may be looking to trade for a defensemen before the NHL Trade Deadline on March, 21st to bolster their blueline before the playoffs.
Toronto Maple Leafs GM, Kyle Dubas, has said several times, most recently during his mid-season press availability, that he would rather acquire players with term instead of trading for rental players at the deadline.
There are obvious benefits to acquiring players with term on their contracts. By trading for players with term, you’re not losing assets for a player that may only be with the team for a couple months before they potentially leave the team as a free agent.
Acquired players with term become tradable asset. The Toronto Maple Leafs could potentially trade for a player before the deadline and then trade them or another player for non-roster assets after the season to make room to re-sign their current players (ie Jack Campbell).
Top 8 Defensemen with Term the Toronto Maple Leafs Could Get in Trade
I’m not just making a list of the top 8 defensemen that I’d like to see on the Toronto Maple Leafs. These are players that I think the Toronto Maple Leafs may actually have a chance at getting.
For this list, I’m looking at physical defensive defensemen with size who can move players from in front of the Leafs net and make the team harder to play against.
I’m looking at teams that are rebuilding or should be looking to rebuild soon that have a defenseman under contract that’s at an age where they may not fit into the team’s future.
I’m also looking at defensemen the Toronto Maple Leafs could acquire under their cap without having to trade assets for salary retention like they did last season at the NHL Trade Deadline.
Some fans believe that the Toronto Maple Leafs are “cap strapped,” but in actuality they could easily free up some space by moving some non-roster. Capfriendly.com estimates that the Leafs will have $1,016,150 in deadline cap space without moving additional salaries.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are also actively looking to move Nick Ritchie who’s $2.5 million salary adds $1.375 million in dead cap while he’s playing with the Toronto Marlies. Toronto may have to add a sweetener to move Ritchie, but it shouldn’t be more than a low 2023 draft pick.
There are also options like moving Alex Kerfoot, Justin Holl, Travis Dermott or even demoting someone to the minors. The point is that the Leafs have some flexibility if they feel its worth going after a more expensive player.
It’s usually more difficult to get teams to retain salary on players with term, and the Leafs may not want to lose a lot of picks like they did last season at the deadline.
Here are the top 8 defensemen with term the Toronto Maple Leafs could get in trade:
Ryan Graves from the New Jersey Devils to the Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 26
Height: 6’5
Weight: 220 lbs
Shoots: Left
Cap Hit: $3,166,667 until 2023
Ryan Graves is large and in charge! At 6’5, he’s be tied for largest Leaf with Pierre Engvall (aka The Giraffe). He knows how to use his size to his advantage. He doesn’t deliver an exorbitated amount of hits, but enough to be among the top four defensemen in Toronto.
Graves does block a lot of shots, and with 88 on the season, he would lead the Leafs in that category by a mile.
He processes a heavy clapper from the point and some offense upside that would make him the next best point producing defenseman on the Toronto Maple Leafs after Morgan Rielly.
Though he’s 26 years-old, Ryan Graves comes with a respectable 25 games of NHL Playoff experience with the Colorado Avalanche.
He would’ve been a bit higher on this list if he was a right-shot. If he was in Toronto, it would be difficult to create a shutdown pair with Muzzin because one of them would have to play on their off side.
I’m also not sure how the New Jersey Devils are going to handle their roster leading up to the trade deadline. They added to their roster in the offseason as though their rebuild was over but seem nowhere near ready to even compete for a playoff spot.
The Devils may want to keep Graves as a piece of their future, but in my opinion, they may find more value in the picks and prospects they would receive in a trade. He does only have one season left after this one before he could pursue free agency.
Damon Severson from the New Jersey Devils to the Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 27
Height: 6’2
Weight: 205 lbs
Shoots: Right
Cap Hit: $4,166,666 until 2023
Damon Severson is a solid two-way defensemen. He isn’t huge, but he’s above average size for an NHL player. He would be the third tallest defenseman on the Toronto Maple Leafs after Justin Holl and Jake Muzzin.
Editor in Leaf top gun, James Tanner, is a big fan of the idea of the Toronto Maple Leafs acquiring Damon Severson, but I didn’t add him to this list just to please JT.
Severson is the most offensively gifted defenseman on this list with six goals and 27 points in 47 games this season, and he eats up more minutes than any other defenseman on the New Jersey Devils averaging 23:32 per game.
He shoots right which is a great fit for the Toronto Maple Leafs. I could see him playing alongside Morgan Reilly on the Leafs top line with T.J. Brodie sliding into a shutdown pairing with Jake Muzzin.
He hits about as often as Graves and blocks fewer shots, but Severson would be a better fit with the Leafs. At 27 years old and one year left on his contract after this season, it’s pretty likely that he’ll be moved out of New Jersey soon.
Because he’s played with the New Jersey Devils for his entire career, he doesn’t have much playoff experience at all.
David Savard from the Montreal Canadiens to the Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 31
Height: 6’2
Weight: 234 lbs
Shoots: Right
Cap Hit: $3,500,000 until 2025
David Savard became a Stanley Cup Champion after he joined the Tampa Bay Lightning at last season’s NHL Trade Deadline. He has a total of 57 games of playoff experience with Tampa Bay and the Columbus Blue Jackets which is more than any Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman who isn’t Jake Muzzin.
Savard is above average size. He’s not huge, but he’s among the top 25 defensemen in the league for hits and blocked shots. He does have a lot of giveaways this season as the Montreal Canadiens lead the league in giveaways, but he’s had better numbers with better teams in the past.
He plays top four minutes and shoots right, so he would fit in nicely beside Jake Muzzin on a shutdown pair. He still has three years left on his new contract that takes him to age 34, but $3.5 million per season seems reasonable even if his performance slips a bit with age.
Savard did just sign his contract with Montreal, and he is a Quebec native that the team may want to keep. On the other hand though, the Canadiens are going through a lot of changes which may include a hard rebuild.
David Savard has also recently been placed on the IR with an ankle injury and isn’t expected to return until shortly after the NHL Trade Deadline. He hasn’t had a career full of injuries or anything, so I’m sure he’ll bounce back, but it may be enough to throw a wrench in the cogs of a deal getting done between Toronto and Montreal.
Connor Murphy from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 28
Height: 6’4
Weight: 212 lbs
Shoots: Right
Cap Hit: $3,850,000 until 2022 / $4,400,000 until 2026
Contract: 10 team no-trade list starts 2022-23
Connor Murphy is a large physical defenseman that could make a huge impact on a good team and could become a fan favourite in Toronto. He currently leads the league in blocked shots, and he’s among the top 20 defensemen in hits.
He eats up first line minutes in Chicago and plays the right side, so he would make an amazing shutdown partner with Jake Muzzin or could hold the fort for Morgan Rielly on the top pairing.
The Chicago Blackhawks did just sign Murphy to an extension in the summer which starts next season, but the team seems ready to trade away anything that’s not nailed down. If they’re going for the hard rebuild they should, the time to trade Connor Murphy should be before his 10 team no-trade clause kicks in after this season.
Connor Murphy started his NHL career in Phoenix and joined Chicago after their Stanley Cup days, so he only has nine games of NHL playoff experience.
Vladislav Gavrikov from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 26
Height: 6’3
Weight: 213 lbs
Shoots: Left
Cap Hit: $2,800,000 until 2023
Like the other defensemen on this list, Vladislav Gavrikov has size, he hits and blocks shots. I ranked him #4 on this list because he has far fewer giveaways than the other defensemen mentioned so far which is a quality the Toronto Maple Leafs could use.
Gavrikov also has offensive upside. He’s no Morgan Reilly or even Damon Severson when it comes to offense, but he’s comparable to Ryan Graves and would be Toronto’s second best defensemen offensively.
His $2.8 million salary for one more season makes him the most affordable option on this list. It’s also a bargain considering his talent and ability to play first line minutes with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Vladislav Gavrikov does shoot left and doesn’t have much experience on the right side as far as I know, which does make it more difficult to know where he’d fit in the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup.
It’s also difficult to know where he fits in the future of the Columbus Blue Jackets. They seem to always be hovering around the playoff bubble without ever really taking much of a step forward or backward.
Brenden Dillon from the Winnipeg Jets to the Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 31
Height: 6’4
Weight: 225 lbs
Shoots: Left
Cap Hit: $3,900,000 until 2024
With 75 games of playoff experience, Brenden Dillon has more playoff experience than anyone on this list and more playoff experience than anyone on the Toronto Maple Leafs besides Jason Spezza.
He’s was part of a couple great runs with the San Jose Sharks making it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2016 and the Conference Finals in 2019.
Dillon is among the top 15 NHL defensemen with 115 hits so far this season, would be one of the Toronto Maple Leafs top shot blockers and has relatively few giveaways.
He could play with Jake Muzzin on a shutdown pair, but one of them would have to play on their off side.
The Winnipeg Jets are another team with an uncertain future. They’re pretty far from a playoff spot right now, but they may see themselves as a team that’s only a few pieces away from real progress.
Jamie Oleksiak from the Seattle Kraken to the Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 29
Height: 6’7
Weight: 255 lbs
Shoots: Left but can play RD
Cap Hit: $4,600,000 until 2026
Contract: No Trade, 16 team no trade after 2023-24
Jamie Oleksiak seems like the perfect fit for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s a player the Leafs have been pursuing for a while, and he was born and raised in Toronto.
He’s a 6’7 giant with 106 hits so far this season. A player like that can make a huge impact on the game. He shoots left but usually plays on the right side, so he would fit right in to make a lethal shutdown pair with Jake Muzzin.
He has 43 games of playoff experience and went to the Stanley Cup Finals with the Dallas Stars in 2020. Oleksiak is smart with the puck and has very few giveaways.
The only issue is that he would have to waive his no trade to clause to go to Toronto. I don’t see why he would want to stay with a bottom feeding team like the Seattle Kraken instead of playing for his hometown contender though.
The Kraken have stated that their prime objective is to accumulate draft picks. They’re taking a slower route with their expansion than the Vegas Golden Knights, so I could see them asking Oleksiak to waive his clause for the right deal.
Adam Larsson from the Seattle Kraken to the Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 29
Height: 6’3
Weight: 208 lbs
Shoots: Right
Cap Hit: $4,000,000 until 2025
Contract: No Trade, 10 team no trade after 2023-24
Adam Larsson may not be a giant like Jamie Oleksiak, but he’s a better player in every way. He has offensive upside, he hits more, blocks a lot more shots and is even more responsible with his lack of giveaways.
All around, Adam Larsson is the best defensive player on this list, and he would probably be the Leafs best offensive defenseman after Morgan Rielly too.
Larsson shoots right an could either play big minutes with Rielly or shutdown teams with Muzzin. His 24 games of playoff experience aren’t anything to write home about, but they’re nothing to laugh at either.
Adam Larsson is a top NHL defenseman and a bargain at $4 million for the next three seasons. Like Jamie Oleksiak, he has a no trade clause with the Seattle Kraken. It is an issue if Larsson doesn’t want to move, but why would he want to stay when be can get traded to a contender?
His contract gives him a lot of stability, but does he want to stabilize himself on a team that’s not going to be good until after his contract expires?
The Kraken are eyeing up picks and prospects, and they’ve added a lot of valuable players like Larsson and Oleksiak that can garnish some very valuable pieces of their future in a trade.
Next. 3 Rental Defensemen the Leafs Should Trade For. dark
The Seattle Kraken were interested in Toronto Maple Leafs players like Alex Kerfoot, Justin Holl and Travis Dermott at the expansion draft. With mutual interest, perhaps a deal can get done for one of their top defenseman. The power lies in the hands of the players, and their clauses could determine their destiny.