Conclusion
Dylan DeMelo would be a phenomenal addition to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s a near perfect fit, he has a history of playing with an offensive-defenseman, against top competition. He also elevates almost every teammate he plays with and comes at a low cap-hit of $3 million for two more seasons.
There are some problems that could arise like, Winnipeg’s willingness to move him. If the Jets play him with Morrissey, they may not be keen to move on from him. Unless, they choose to “re-tool” considering they missed the playoffs this year and have some holes to fill as well as some aging players.
The other issue could be his acquisition cost and contract terms.
When DeMelo was traded to Winnipeg, they only gave up a third round pick to Ottawa as he was a rental. As evidenced by his great play in Winnipeg and his cheap contract, the cost would likely be quite a bit higher. Also, he has a six team no-trade list. The exact terms aren’t public knowledge so if the Leafs are on the list, he might not be willing to waive.
However, barring the Leafs being on his no-trade list, there could be a deal to be had. One of the areas the Jets struggled in was goal scoring, they were 20th in GF/60 this season. A player that could be useful to them is Alex Kerfoot. He set a career high in points this season and with Paul Stastny’s deal being up, they might be in the market for a younger middle-six winger. He also carries a similar cap hit to DeMelo, only costing $500K more and with most of this year’s salary being bonus money, he could be an enticing option.
There a lot of moving parts to the possibility of the Leafs acquiring Dylan DeMelo. It will depend on a few key factors but he’s a name that seems to be flying under the radar. All I know is that it should be an interesting off-season as the Leafs try to improve their team enough to hopefully play more than seven games next post-season.