10 (Mostly) Elite Defensemen the Toronto Maple Leafs Could Trade For
By James Tanner
Top 10 Defenseman the Toronto Maple Leafs Could Trade For
1. MacKenzie Weegar
Weegar shoots right, he’s 6′ 206 LBS, and he is the rare former 7th rounder who become an NHL star.
The Calgary Flames are a bad team, and they are well stocked with terrible contracts, meaning that they may be desperate to get out of them.
The Toronto Maple Leafs clearly have interest in Nikita Zadorov and Chris Tanev, but they really should shoot higher.
Weegar is the Flames best defenseman, and the Flames situation + his long contract through what is likely a long rebuilding phase means that he would be free to any team willing to take on the deal.
At worst, you could get a high-end player for dirt cheap.
Weegar is in the first year of a brutal (at least for a team staring down multiple years at the bottom of the standings) eight-year deal signed by, who else, Brad Treliving.
It does make sense that Calgary would want out of and obviously it makes sense that Weegar would waive to go to a contender, and to the team now ran by the guy who talked him into staying in Calgary.
The thing is, he only has a $6.25 cap-hit, it’s really the length and the no-trade protection that is concerning. (all cap info capfriendly.com).
The Leafs could fit him in by subtracting Klingberg and Jarnkrok. The cost of a first rounder would probably get the deal done, since the Flames really have no use for a player whose prime will be long gone by the time they are good again.
Currently, Weegar has a 54% xGoals Percentage, and last year he he was at 58% and he was at 57% both the years before that. Those are elite numbers, and did I mention he’s right handed?
Weegar would instantly become the Toronto Maple Leafs best defenseman, and with T.J Brodie in a heavy decline and gone after this season, it would really only be a raise of just over a million dollars to get several years younger and much better from your top pairing right-side defenseman.
Weegar checks all the boxes: he’s an elite player, he is right handed, he can play top pairing vs top competition and succeed, and he’s in his prime.
As far as I can tell, he should be the Leafs top trade target since he is probably the best you can get without moving Nylander.