3 Defenseman Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Trade For

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The Toronto Maple Leafs need to trade for a defenseman, as soon as humanly possible.

Prior to the start of the 2023-24, the Toronto Maple Leafs could have used two more defenseman, but after multiple injuries, they’re in desperation mode.

The Seattle Kraken are not a good hockey team, yet the Leafs allowed them to get 40 shots on net and force a shootout, which they luckily won. After securing a 3-1 lead in the third period, Toronto should have put their foot down and won this game easily, but instead, they were narrowly victorious.

It took a hat-trick performance from fish-bowl Mitch Marner and another unbelievable game from Joseph Woll, including a world-class save in overtime, for them to secure the win.

Thanks to Woll, the Leafs defense was once again bailed out, but that can’t last all season. It’s nice to be able to have faith in your goaltender every night, but if the Leafs are allowing 30-40 shots on a nightly basis, they’re bound to lose more than they win.

As it currently stands, the Leafs sit seventh worst in shots allowed this year, averaging just shy of 33 shots per night. The only teams who are worse than them are the San Jose Sharks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Islanders, St. Louis Blues and Montreal Canadiens.

No offense to those teams listed, but none of them were Stanley Cup favorites prior to the season, whereas the Leafs were a top-five favorite on most sportsbooks you looked at.

With a current rotation of Simon Benoit, William Lagesson, Jake McCabe, Conor Timmins, Morgan Rielly and TJ Brodie, the Toronto Maple Leafs need to make a few moves to improve their defense immediately and these three players could help.

Apr 4, 2023; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames defenseman Chris Tanev (8) skates during the warmup period against the Chicago Blackhawks at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /

3 Defenseman the Toronto Maple Leafs Should Try to Trade For

No. 1: Chris Tanev

According to @JFreshHockey’s analysis this season, the Leafs number-one target right now should be Chris Tanev.

As shown by the Nikita Zadorov trade this week, it looks like the Calgary Flames are open for business, so there’s no reason to believe that Tanev won’t be the next defenseman traded.

Tanev is playing at an elite level this year, but with the Flames destined for a rebuild, they’ll likely look to move his expiring contact for an asset.

Zadarov surprisingly only got traded for a 5th Round and 3rd Round Draft pick, when you could argue that he’s more valuable than Tanev, because he is younger, bigger and has a smaller cap-hit.

Tanev is no slouch, standing tall at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, but Zadorov is a beast at 6-foot-6, 250 pounds and will destroy his opponent in the playoffs.

Tanev will still have that ability, but it would have been nice if the team was able to acquire Zadorov as well.

With GM Brad Treliving’s connection to Calgary, you’d think that it would be easy for him to acquire Tanev, but realistically he’s probably going to have to offer more to get him.

Based on their immediate need, I’d be fine with a B prospect and a draft pick for Tanev, so hopefully the team can find a way to get him to Toronto, which is also his hometown.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – NOVEMBER 19: Sean Walker #26 of the Philadelphia Flyers (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Sean Walker

At $2.65M, on an expiring deal, Walker is a very intriguing trade target for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Similar to Tanev, Walker is a local kid (Keswick, ON), so coming to Toronto could be a welcomed sight for the 29-year-old.

So what type of player would the Leafs be acquiring if they traded for Walker?

Although he’s a relatively unknown defenseman throughout the NHL, he can fill a ton of gaps that Toronto is desperately missing.

His speed and skating abilities are unbelievable that resemble a lesser Morgan Rielly but at the same time, he’s been blocking shots and laying out hits like Mark Giordano this year.

He’d immediately jump into a top-four role with the Leafs defensive-core and would do almost everything above average, helping the team out defensively and potentially offensively.

In 23 games thus far, Walker has four goals and 11 points, while averaging 21 minutes per night.

With every game, it feels like his trade stock is going up, so Toronto would be best suited to jump on this player before another contender jumps in a pays a premium for him.

TORONTO, ON – APRIL 9: Ilya Lyubushkin #46 of the Toronto Maple Leafs .(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

No. 3: Ilya Lyubushkin

Wouldn’t it be great to see a return of the Russian Bear, Ilya Lyubushkin?

Despite being an unknown player when he was originally acquired by the Leafs, Lyubushkin made an immediate impact and played great alongside Rielly.

The two turned into the team’s top pairing defense core and a reliable pair in the playoffs.

After making the mistake of signing Nick Ritchie, Kyle Dubas turned Ritchie into Lyubushkin, which was one of the best moves of the season.

Unfortunately, he left for Buffalo after the season, but there’s no reason to believe there can’t be a reunion.

He’s currently playing a rebuilding Anaheim Ducks team and is a pending UFA, so you’d think that they’d be open to trading him for an asset.

At $2.75M, he has a reasonable contract that the Leafs could trade for, but the Ducks also have a ton of cap-space, so they could be willing to eat 25 or 50 percent of it.

Next. 10 (Mostly) Elite Options on Defense. dark

I can speak on behalf of all Leafs fans that we’d all love to see Lyubushkin back in a Leafs uniform this year.

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