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Toronto Maple Leafs Seeking Right Shot Defenseman with Edge

By Jeremy Ridgewell

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - JUNE 28: General manager Brad Treliving of the Toronto Maple Leafs is seen prior to round one of the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena on June 28, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - JUNE 28: General manager Brad Treliving of the Toronto Maple Leafs is seen prior to round one of the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena on June 28, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /

Toronto Maple Leafs Seeking Right Shot Defenseman with Edge

Andrew Peeke

Andrew Peeke is a 25-year-old right-shooting defenseman from Parkland, Florida, USA.

He is currently playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who drafted him in the 2nd round of the 2016 NHL draft with the 34th overall pick.

Peeke is 6’3, 210 Lbs, and supplies a lot of hits and blocked shots. Last season, Peeke registered 180 hits and 197 blocked shots.

The season before that, he recorded 191 hits and 169 blocked shots. He has the fearless edge that Treliving and the Toronto Maple Leafs are looking for.
(Stats from hockey-reference.com)

His career average ice time is 20:10 minutes a game. He could potentially slot into the Leafs top four if they can acquire him, but is he good enough to play top-four minutes on a team that is a cup contender?

His contract has a salary cap hit of $2.75 million until the end of the 2025-26 season. Considering the fact that the Leafs don’t have many defensemen signed beyond this season, Peeke could be a really good pick-up. (Salary cap info from capfriendly.com)

One of the things that go against Peeke is his lack of any playoff experience. Another is that the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team much worse than the Leafs, keep healthy-scratching him.

Peeke has one assist in four games, along with six hits and eight blocked shots, while averaging 14:55 minutes of ice time.

Due to the Blue Jakets crowded blueline, Peeke has not been getting a lot of playing time and has been a healthy scratch a few times. This has led to speculation that the Blue Jackets might be open to trading him.

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