Will Cann
The Toronto Maple Leafs currently have two very serious issues to address, the goaltending and the defense.
Personally, I don’t really like the goalie market available at this trade deadline, so I’m not in the “Leafs need a goalie” camp.
Dubas has limited chips to play, and those chips should be spent elsewhere. Kallgren giving this team some decent minutes until Jack Campbell gets it sorted out is still the best option for Kyle Dubas.
The reality is, Mark Andre Fleury is the only goalie available that would be a potential difference-maker, and the odds of him being in a deal to come to Toronto is very unlikely.
The contract is just too big, and the player has all the control.
The defense market is also getting thin, with Josh Manson going to Colorado and several other impact defensemen potentially off the market.
I think Dubas is deep into the secondary market for defense, and he seems to like players with term. I’ll place my bets on a guy like Artem Zub out of Ottawa or Scott Mayfield from the Islanders.
Both are big right-hand D that are signed to reasonable contracts next season at $2.5 mill and $1.45 mill respectively. Either of these players satisfies an immediate need to protect the front of the net defensively and add some needed physicality.
They are also both young enough to fit into a long-term plan if they play well, or are tradeable assets if they don’t, which mitigates the risk.