Toronto Maple Leafs Could Acquire Top-Pairing Defenseman from NJ

The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to bolster their playoff roster before the NHL Trade Deadline passes on Monday, March 21st at 3pm est.

Kyle Dubas has mentioned that the Toronto Maple Leafs will most likely make one more significant move and it will most likely be for a defenseman.  He has also mentioned that he would prefer to acquire a player with term instead of spending picks and prospects on a rental player.

There have been several defensemen recently linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs in trade rumours, but the best fit might be New Jersey Devil’s defenseman, Damon Severson.

Damon Severson is great at both ends of the rink.  He’s an excellence puck mover and can fire it into the net as well. He plays top line minutes, and shoots right, so he’d fit in nicely beside Morgan Rielly on the right side of the Toronto Maple Leafs top defensive pairing.

Severson is above average size, blocks shots and delivers a decent amount of hits.   He could quarterback the Leafs second powerplay unit and could see time on the penalty kill.  He is an excellent all-round defender, putting up solid numbers both offensively and defensively.

(Some info from CapFriendly.com)

Toronto Maple Leafs Trade for Damon Severson

A good reference point to determine Damon Severson’s trade value might be the Jake Muzzin trade.  In that trade, Toronto gave up a first round pick and two prospects that were former second round picks (Sean Durzi and Carl Grundstrom).

Like Jake Muzzin at the time of the trade, Severson has one-year left on his contract.  Severson is a couple years younger than Muzzin was though and plays more minutes.

Here’s a possible trade:

For the trade to work, the Toronto Maple Leafs have to send money back or New Jersey needs to retain some of Damon Severson’s salary.  That’s one reason why I included Petr Mrazek in this proposed deal.  With Mrazek’s $3.8 million and Travis Dermott’s $1.5 million against Severson’s $4.166666 million, the Toronto Maple Leafs would gain $1.133334 in cap space.

The New Jersey Devils are also in desperate need of a goalie.  Both Jonathan Bernier and MacKenzie Blackwood are on the IR.  Bernier is out for the season following hip surgery and Blackwood was terrible when he was healthy.

New Jersey has $7.5 million in cap space this season and with P.K. Subban scheduled for free agency, they’ll gain another $9 million in cap space next season.  Since they have the cap space, they may be willing to take a chance on Mrazek bouncing back next season.

Damon Severson could be just the player the Toronto Maple Leafs need to push them further in the playoffs.  I’m excited to see what moves they’ll make before the trade deadline.