The Toronto Maple Leafs Should Trade for Luke Schenn

After watching the Toronto Maple Leafs get smacked around by the Montreal Canadiens for 60 minutes, I now have a very good idea of what I want Dubas to add. It’s time to bring Luke Schenn home to Toronto.

The former Toronto Maple Leafs first round pick has carved out a pretty good career since being dealt in the famous trade for James Van Reimsdyk, most notably being a part of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s back to back Stanley Cups.

Getting Schenn makes a lot of sense for many reasons: Firstly, he’s cheap. Schenn is getting paid 850k for this season and next and a solid cheap option to shore up the defense is something the Leafs need. It’s all about stability.

Toronto Maple Leafs and Luke Schenn

Schenn brings playoff experience which is something the Leafs need more of. Schenn is also a big guy who can hit, which the Leafs definitely need more of.

Somehow I feel as if I’ve said this before. Luke Schenn is currently leading the Canucks in hits. With how loose defense has been in front of Jack Campbell’s net, bringing in a guy like Schenn, as well as Ilya Lyubushkin, will help clean that up.

Here’s how Schenn stacks up

Jake Muzzin being out might affect what Dubas does over the next month as well. According to Nick Kypreos, Muzzin will be out indefinitely.

Putting Muzzin on LTIR would help the Leafs get a bit more in terms of cap space to play with to get someone to move the needle. Jake Muzzin is an experienced player. Being without him again leaves the Leafs with a big hole to fill.

The Muzzin injury doesn’t create a hole for Schenn to fill, just to be clear. Muzzin plays on the left and Schenn plays on the right.

Getting Schenn would create an interesting scenario for the Leafs. If you trade for Schenn, who drops out of the top six? T.J. Brodie definitely isn’t going anywhere, so that leaves Timothy Liljegren and Justin Holl. There’s also Lyubushkin to think about so that he’s in the mix as well.

So here’s what I think:

The Leafs need more guys they can depend on to lay some guys out, and Luke Schenn would be able to do just that. He’s experienced, he’s been in this market before and he won’t be too expensive to trade for, unlike Ben Chiarot.

Schenn being under contract for next season might be what makes Dubas or another GM pull the trigger on him. Less than a million dollars for a decent third pairing defenseman is pretty good business.

Obviously, there are a number of guys that could be in a Leafs sweater by the time the trade deadline rolls around, but I think Luke Schenn makes a lot of sense.