No. 5: Jakob Chychrun
Jake Muzzin getting injured opens the door for the Leafs to acquire Chychrun so much easier than before.
The Arizona Coyotes are known for taking on contracts of players who never play for them, so Muzzin could join the list of Bryan Little and Andrew Ladd who are currently on that LTIR list.
Making it work through the salary-cap was always the biggest issue for Toronto but now that they don’t have to worry about that, they should be making a large trade package to acquire Chychrun. Not only he such an appealing player to trade for because of his talent, but it’s also because of his contract.
At $4.6M for the next three years, Chychrun’s contract is a steal, especially for a 24-year-old defenseman who scored 18 goals in 56 games two years ago.
The former 16th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft has so much talent and he could finally unleash all of it by playing on a good roster, like the Leafs.
As such, the Toronto Maple Leafs should do whatever it takes to acquire Chychrun before another team jumps in and acquires him.