Toronto Maple Leafs Potential Trade Target: Josh Manson
By William Cann
I don’t think there’s any question that Kyle Dubas is on a mission to shore up the Toronto Maple Leafs defense at the trade deadline.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are struggling to outscore their defensive mistakes lately.
The goaltending of this team has been horrendous for nearly three months now, and with a limited time to fix wait ails them, the Leafs are going to have to improve their weakest area, which is team defense. Specifically, clearing the front of the net.
The defense is soft, and the goalies aren’t making enough saves, it’s truly amazing that this team is still winning games because that is, generally speaking, not a recipe for success.
We know what Dubas is looking for, but we don’t know who he’s looking for, and some recent developments have me thinking that player could be Josh Manson of the Anaheim Ducks.
The pending UFA comes with a $4.1 million annual cap hit and the Ducks can easily eat half of that if they choose to do so. This is a very affordable top 4 defenseman, and there will be no shortage of suitors if the Ducks make him available.
There are three reasons that Manson has not been at the top of my list in terms of trade rumors. I will address all of them in this article because recent events have changed the landscape on this player.