Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Defenseman to Target Not Named Josh Manson

Now that Josh Manson is off the board, the Toronto Maple Leafs will have to go shopping for a different right-handed defenseman.

Goaltending is the biggest issue for the Toronto Maple Leafs right now, but you can never have too many defensemen.

Prior to getting traded to the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night, many thought that Josh Manson was on his way to becoming a future Leaf. At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, the internet and many NHL insiders connected Manson to Toronto, for the past two seasons.

Although Toronto’s philosophy under Kyle Dubas has been to acquire as much skill as possible and more defensemen that can get the puck out of the zone quickly, the idea of adding Manson made some sense.

As previously mentioned, Toronto is a team that built off skill. They don’t have a ton of players who hit or fight and many Leafs fans think you need that. Personally, I’d tend to agree with most Leafs fans from that point of view, however you want to find a player who can do both.

The Avalanche traded away a top-tier defensive prospect and second-round prospect. When you’re a team that’s gunning for the Stanley Cup, that doesn’t seem like a big deal. However, from a Leafs point of view, that would be like them essentially trading Topi Niemelä and a second-round pick for Manson.

Toronto isn’t dumb enough to make that trade, because Manson isn’t going to be someone that’s the defining factor in winning a Stanley Cup.

The Leafs should look to add another depth defenseman but it shouldn’t come at the price of what Colorado paid for the Avalanche, unless they’re getting a legit top-four defenseman with term.

Here are three players that Toronto could still be targeting.

No. 1: Justin Braun

If the Toronto Maple Leafs want to make a smart deal that won’t require them to trade any high-end prospects or draft picks, Justin Braun is probably the smartest person to target.

The 35-year-old makes $1.8M and is a pending UFA. At 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, Braun isn’t going to be a puck-moving defenseman that helps the offense, but instead is going to be a reliable and experienced defenseman that won’t hurt the blue-line.

It seems like Jake Muzzin is going to return before the regular season is over, so as a result, Toronto may not have as much cap-space available to them, as potentially expected. As such, the team could still trade for Braun without having to do much math homework.

Braun has close to 800 regular season NHL games of experience, but more importantly, he’s played in 100 playoff games.

He was important piece on the San Jose Sharks blue-line during their many lengthy playoff trips and he could be a great addition to Toronto’s defensive group.

No. 2: John Klingberg

I’ve talked about John Klingberg a lot and it’s for good reason. He’s a really good defenseman and he doesn’t make a ton of money.

Top-four defensemen are hard to come by and I’d 1000 percent rather have Klingberg than Manson, who was recently traded to Colorado.

As stated a number of times prior, Klingberg can eat up minutes, has Stanley Cup Finals experience and can more importantly move the puck up the ice quickly. I know many fans want a player who stays at home and hits everyone in sight, but they already traded for that player.

His name is Ilya Lubushkin.

You obviously need players who are physical in the playoffs, but more importantly, you need to score. Having another player like Lubushkin’s doesn’t help the offense and doesn’t get the puck out of your zone quickly.

Instead, Klingberg can help create offense and get the puck out quickly and efficient, which is a more important skillset.