The Toronto Maple Leafs recently traded AHL forward Curtis Douglas to the Arizona Coyotes for defenseman Conor Timmins.
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas made the trade for Timmins out of necessity.
At the time of the trade, Toronto was without defensemen Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, and Jake Muzzin. They were all on injured reserve. Dubas knew he needed to add a defenseman, and he needed to do it quickly.
Since joining the Leafs, Timmins has fit in nicely. He has six points in seven games while averaging 17 minutes of ice time. Timmins registered seven points in his previous NHL 41 games.
Toronto Maple Leafs and Conor Timmins
In his seven games so far, Timmins has posted an impressive 57% puck possession rating. When deploying Timmins, the Leafs have outshot their opponents 79-56 for 56% of the shots. The Leafs have outscored the other team 7-4 with Timmins on the ice, while he has posted a 60% Expected Goals rating. (stats naturalstattrick.com).
These are very good numbers, which, along with the almost point-per-game he’s racked up so far make the early returns on this trade incredible.
Who knows if he can keep this kind of production up, but he’s been very good so far.
Adding Timmins to this group is beneficial for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He gives them another defenseman they can trust to put out on the ice when needed.
The defense pairing of Brodie and Timmins has been quite effective so far. Together, they quietly go about their business and complement each other well. Morgan Rielly is still two to three weeks away from returning, so Timmins doesn’t need to worry about his spot on the team yet. He can focus on his play and let it do the talking for him.
It is unlikely that defenseman Jake Muzzin will play this season or ever again. Having him on long-term injured reserve has allowed Dubas to make some moves that he otherwise would not have been able to. Timmins is a fine addition to this team for $850,000. (Salary cap info from capfriendly.com)
He is the 12th defenseman the Leafs have used so far this season.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe will have a tough decision to make when Rielly returns. Timmins is playing too well to be taken out of the lineup, but he’s likely going to have to sit anyways.
Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren have cemented their status as regulars, while the Leafs aren’t likely to ever sit Rielly or Brodie. Meanwhile Giordano and Holl have been skating the most in their absence, meaning that barring some kind of unexpected trade, Timmins is the likely seventh defenseman when the Leafs get healthy.