The Toronto Maple Leafs have made their first trade of the 2022-23 season on Wednesday acquiring defenseman, Conor Timmins, from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for AHL forward, Curtis Douglas.
The Leafs were in need of defensive depth after injuries to Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin and T.J. Brodie left their blueline looking very thin.
The Coyotes on the other hand weren’t sure what to do with Timmins who just returned to the team after a conditioning stint in the AHL. The Coyotes had nine healthy defensemen on their roster.
The only Coyotes defenseman that was waiver exempt was Janis Moser who has been one of the team’s best defenseman this season. They could either trade a defenseman or risk losing one for nothing to waivers.
Conor Timmins may not be a familiar name to most Toronto Maple Leafs fan, so here’s what you need to know about the newest member of the team:
Who is the Toronto Maple Leafs Newest Defenseman, Conor Timmins?
Conor Timmins is a 24 year-old, right-handed, 6’2 defenseman that was drafted yearly in the 2nd round (32nd overall) by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2017 NHL draft. He was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in July 2021 along with1st round and 3rd round picks for Darcy Kuemper.
He played with the Soo Greyhounds in the OHL, so Kyle Dubas is familiar with him. He played with Rasmus Sandin and Mac Hollowell in the Soo as well.
In his draft year, he recorded 61 points in 67 OHL games as a defenseman. He followed that up in 2017-18 with 41 points in 36 OHL games earning him a spot on the 2018 OHL 2nd All-Star Team. (Stats from EliteProspects.com)
In 2018, Conor Timmins also played with Canada as they won the gold medal at the World Juniors. He had 5 points in 7 games and won an award as one of the top 3 players on the team.
Conor Timmins Suffered Severe Injuries Before Joining the Toronto Maple Leafs
During Game 5 of the 2018 OHL Finals, Timmins suffered a head injury. He would return to the game and play in Game 6, but the Greyhounds would lose 5-4 to fall to the 2018 OHL champion, Hamilton Bulldogs.
The injury was later determined to be a major concussion, and Timmins would miss the entire 2018-19 season.
After a decent return to action with the Colorado Eagles in 2019-20, Timmins played in two regular season games and 2 playoff games with the Colorado Avalanche. After a hot AHL start in 2020-21, Timmins was called up again to the Avalanche where he played 31 regular season games and 10 playoff games.
However, after getting traded to the Arizona Coyotes, Timmins suffered a major knees injury resulted in him missing the final 76 games of the 2021-22 season.
Timmins played two NHL games with the Coyotes this season before doing his conditioning stint with the Tuson Roadrunners in the AHL.
In short, Conor Timmins has proven to be a promising prospect but has had some major setbacks due to severe injuries. Right now, it’s too early to tell if he’ll be a top 4 defenseman or a depth player for the Leafs. Either way, he’s a body that can play defense and that’s what the Leafs need right now.