3 Defenseman to Give the Toronto Maple Leafs Some Depth

The Toronto Maple Leafs clearly do not have a strong blue-line.

Coming into the season the blue-line was obviously the Toronto Maple Leafs biggest weakness, and it was even strange that the only player they added to it in the summer was John Klingberg, who didn’t seem like a good fit at the time and hasn’t played well to date.

The Leafs blue line is old – five out of six players are over 30, and they also have the NHL’s oldest player in Mark Giordano.

The blue-line also lacks physicality – only Jake McCabe is considered a physical player and he’s been a complete disaster so far this year.

The blue-line has no elite players, and lacks depth.  Leafs GM Brad Treliving clearly has to address the team’s defense sooner or later.

The Leafs could see some improvement to their depth when Conor Timmins returns, but he’s not close to returning, and he doesn’t really seem like he’ll ever be an impact player regardless.

With no NHL ready prospects who appear to be anything more than depth pieces, the Leafs will have to look outside the organization for defensive help.  The chances of getting an elite player who will help the team in a major way are basically zero at this point.

Perhaps  later in the year when some teams are eliminated, a player with top-pairing upside could become available, but for now at least, the team should focus on getting some depth for their lineup.  Should an injury occur, the Leafs are looking at playing Simon Benoit, so clearly depth is needed.

The Leafs could use a defenseman with a bit of size that can block shots and play physically. A defenseman who can control the puck in his own zone and limit giveaways is ideal. Finding a team willing to trade a defenseman like this is the hard part. There are plenty of defensemen like this throughout the NHL, but will anyone be willing to trade one to the Leafs?

Here is a look at three defensemen the Toronto Maple Leafs could target for defensive help.

3 Defenseman to Give the Toronto Maple Leafs Some Depth

Jacob Middleton

Jacob Middleton is a 6’3, 219-pound left-shooting defenseman from Wainwright, Alberta. He was drafted in the 7th round of the 2014 NHL draft by the Los Angeles Kings with the 210th overall pick.

The 27-year-old defenseman is currently playing for the Minnesota Wild. He has two more years left on his contract, which carries a $2.45 million cap hit. It’s a cap hit that Treliving and the Leafs should be able to manage. Middleton can play a lot of minutes and could be a nice depth upgrade, but could be expensive for a bottom-pairing player.

His average ice time this season is 19:38 through five games. He has 12 blocked shots, three hits, two takeaways, two giveaways, and two assists this season. Last season, Middleton finished with three goals and 12 assists for 15 points in 79 games. He also registered 155 blocked shots, 115 hits, 18 takeaways, and 23 giveaways.

His team is also getting absolutely destroyed when he’s on the ice, so perhaps the Wild would be looking to move him, and if the Leafs think his struggles are systematic or something they could coach away, he size and style would make him an ideal fit. At worst, he’s still a lot better than Benoit.  (Stats from hockey-reference.com)

His presence on the team might calm some nerves for players, coaches, and fans. During the 2022-23 NHL playoffs with Minnesota, Middleton’s shifts started in the defensive zone 60.5% of the time. This shows how much the Wild’s coaching staff trusted him defensively, and could partially explain his bad numbers.

Nikita Zadorov

Nikita Zadorov is a 6’6, 248-pound left-shooting defenseman from Moscow, Russia.

He was drafted in the 1st round of the 2013 NHL draft by the Buffalo Sabres with the 16th overall pick.

The 28-year-old defenseman is currently playing for the Calgary Flames. He has one year left on his contract, which carries a $3.75 million cap hit.

It’s another cap hit that Treliving and the Leafs should be able to manage. Zadorov can play plenty of minutes and is well-known to Treliving. Treliving was the GM in Calgary before taking the Leafs GM job this past summer.

Zadorov’s average ice time this season is 18:13 through six games. He has seven blocked shots, 12 hits, one takeaway, one giveaway, and two assists this season.

Last season, Zadorov finished with 14 goals and seven assists for 21 points in 82 games. He also registered 75 blocked shots, 174 hits, 31 takeaways, and 57 giveaways. His giveaway numbers are a bit concerning, but they haven’t seemed to diminish his overall defensive play.

Like Middleton, Zadorov could be a solid physical  addition to the lineup and would likely help the team as long as his minutes were somewhat sheltered. His physical presence on the ice would be a welcomed addition.