10 (Mostly) Elite Defensemen the Toronto Maple Leafs Could Trade For

5. Moritz Seider

This is, almost certainly, just a fantasy – I don’t see why the Detroit Red Wings would want to trade Seider.

That said, why wouldn’t you explore every last option?

At best, Steve Yzerman is a sketchy GM, despite whatever his inflated Ken Holland-esque reputation might say to oppose that.  I feel you could probably trick him, or at least get the better of him in a trade, so it’s worth a try to heist one of the NHL’s best young defensman from one of it’s worst general managers.

At 6.3, 205 lbs, and shooting right, Seider is an ideal guy to build around because he is only 22 and has already shown flashes of brilliance.

After a 50 point rookie season, the Red Wings paired him with one of the NHL’s worst players (Ben Chiarot) and he declined spectacularly in his sophomore season.

He is due for a massive raise in the off-season, but he currently is still on an ELC and costs nothing.  That is like catnip to a contending team, and he’d cost an absolute fortune.

He is still posting fairly bad numbers across the board, and appears overmatched as a team’s top-pairing defender.  Therefore, maybe the Wings would take a huge package instead of making a huge commitment.

There is risk that he isn’t what we hope he is, but I think it’s worthwhile.

The Toronto Maple Leafs should at least ask if they would take William Nylander in exchange.