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

6. Noah Dobson

Noah Dobson is, like Moritz Seider, highly unlikely to be available.

Then again, Dougie Hamilton and Devon Toews were traded when they were extremely young, so it does happen.

A former 12th overall pick who is now playing as the New York Islanders #1 defenseman at the age of 23, Noah Dobson would be a dream acquisition for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Coming off a 49 point season, and a 51 point season before that, Dobson has nearly a point-per-game so far this year.

The Islanders are getting great results when he plays, but his expected goals rating is only just above 50%. Is this because the Islanders are a terrible team? Or is Dobson not good enough to be a #1?

It is almost certainly the former.

Dobson has the scoring chops of a future elite player, but will he be a truly elite top-pairing defenseman?

Maybe, who knows?

The reason the Toronto Maple Leafs should trade for him is because they don’t have anyone else who might fill that role in the future.

The cost would be William Nylander.  And probably a bit more.

Dobson is locked in for four million this year and next year.  After that, he’s going to cost $10 million, but he’ll only be 25.  This is the kind of player the Toronto Maple Leafs should risk their Nylander chip on.

He’s cheap enough that they can add elsewhere and win now, but he’s young enough that you could potentially have a franchise defenseman on your hands.

There is always going to be a risk in trading a sure thing for someone who isn’t, but the cap hit and the extra year of that cheap cap hit + the potential + the fact that you’d be trading a strength to address a weakness is probably enough to make it the right decision.

The Islanders get the star they are desperate for, the Toronto Maple Leafs get the #1 they haven’t had since Tomas Kaberle’s prime.  Of all the deals proposed here, this one is the best for the Leafs and should be their biggest target.