Toronto Maple Leafs Should Trade for One of These Defensemen

1 of 6

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced recently that defenseman, John Klingberg, requires hip surgery and will miss the remainder of the season, and rumour has it they’re searching for a replacement.

Klingberg averaged 20:33 of ice time during his 14 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs which is third most minutes among Leafs defensemen behind only Morgan Reilly and T.J. Brodie. (stats from Sportsnet.ca).

His injury unlocks almost $4 million in cap-space for the Leafs, and gives GM Brad Treliving a do-over on what was proving to be a terrible decision.

With the additional injuries to Timothy Liljegren (now back) and Mark Giordano, the mercurial play of Jake McCabe and the decline of T.J Brodie, it’s become obvious that the Leafs could use another top 4 defenseman.

Ideally they would add an elite defender who could push everyone else down the lineup, but those kinds of players are not generally available.

Depth defensemen, Conor Timmins, Simon Benoit, William Lagesson and Max Lajoie have done okay in their elevated roles, but they can’t be expected to fill these gaps in the lineup longterm.

With Klingberg on LTIR, the Toronto Maple Leafs have the cap space available to easily bring another quality top 4 defenseman into their lineup now, and there are several players who fit the bill that are rumoured to be available.

Here are my top 5 picks for available defensemen who could help the Toronto Maple Leafs:

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 14: Nick Seeler #24 of the Philadelphia Flyers .(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Toronto Maple Leafs Should Trade for One of These Defensemen

#5 Nick Seeler – Philadelphia Flyers

Nick Seeler would be a great defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs to acquire depending on the direction they choose to go in.

Seeler isn’t quite the same kind of impact player as other defensemen on this list, but he could at the very least patch a hole and could potentially do more.

Seeler has been a great defensive asset for the Philadelphia Flyers this year. He’s been utilized mainly on the Flyers second pairing, but this is his first season seeing so many minutes.

He doesn’t put up many points, but Seeler is a big, solid defensive player who can hit. He shoots left, but has experience on the right side, and he’s having a good season so far in Philadelphia.

He could potentially be a top 4 defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the Leafs may become more comfortable giving Timothy Liljegren a bigger role when he returns from injury, so Seeler may slide to the bottom pairing.

Seeler could be acquired for a lot less than other players on this list and with a cap hit of only $775,000, he’s the cheapest on this list as well. The Toronto Maple Leafs could acquire Seeler to fill their gap on defense and use their remaining cap space elsewhere. (capfriendly.com).

There are rumours that the Flyers are looking to move UFA’s such as Seeler, Sean Walker and Rasmus Ristolainen as they’ve been in a rebuild mode, however they’re currently in a playoff spot, so that may change.

Walker might work too, but I chose Seeler over him because Seeler is a bit better defensively and his cap hit is next to nothing. Walker is also a little undersized.

Nov 16, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson (8) Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports /

#4 Mike Matheson – Montreal Canadiens

Mike Matheson would be a great fit on the Toronto Maple Leafs for a few reasons.

He’s become an excellent two-way defenseman and leads the Montreal Canadiens in ice-time.

He puts up points, blocks a lot of shots and could quarterback the Leafs second powerplay unit.

He’s definitely a defensive upgrade to Klingberg and though he’s not as gifted offensively as Klingberg, he’s no slouch either.

There has apparently been a lot of interest for Matheson around the NHL and with Montreal’s current stable of younger defensemen, they could be willing to part with Matheson who will soon be entering his 30’s.

Matheson still has two years left on his contract after this season which is appealing to a lot of teams, but the Toronto Maple Leafs may prefer the cap flexibility of a UFA if they’re planning to resign William Nylander.

Mike Matheson’s current cap hit is $4.875 million which isn’t too far off from John Klingberg’s $4.15 million.

Matheson does have an 8 team no-trade clause, but I don’t see why he wouldn’t want to join the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Noah Hanifin #55 of the Calgary Flames (Photo by Derek Cain/Getty Images) /

#3 Noah Hanifin – Calgary Flames

Noah Hanifin has a similar skill set to Mike Matheson. He’s a well-rounded defenseman who can quarterback a powerplay.

He can move the puck, he can kill penalties and he logs a lot of icetime.

The biggest difference is that he’s three years younger than Matheson and could potentially be one of the youngest UFA defensemen available this summer.

His combination of skill and youth makes him very valuable in regards to both trade and salary. He may not have reached his full potential yet.

With a cap hit of $4.95 million, Noah Hanifin is the most expensive player on this list, but his current salary could easily be managed by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to give up the assets necessary to bring in Hanifin, however, they’ll most likely want to sign him long term and he was apparently close to an 8-year $7.5 million deal with Calgary.

Rumour is that Hanifin would be interested in a sign-and-trade deal which would lock him up long term, but that may be too much of a commitment for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Leafs may also not have or be willing to part with the pieces required to meet Calgary’s asking price for Hanifin.

The pressure is on in Calgary to get Hanifin and other pending free agents signed or traded before the trade deadline after the situation they had with Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk a couple seasons ago, and Brad Treliving may be licking his chops to add familiar faces from his former team.

OTTAWA, CANADA – NOVEMBER 11: Chris Tanev #8 of the Calgary Flames (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images) /

#2 Chris Tanev – Calgary Flames

Chris Tanev is another pending UFA that the Calgary Flames will want to trade or sign before the NHL trade deadline.

Toronto Maple Leafs GM, Brad Treliving, knows Tanev well from his time as GM in Calgary, and he knows what he can bring to the table.

Tanev is a top notch veteran defensive defenseman who swallows up a lot of ice-time. Unlike a lot of so-called defensive defenseman, Tanev does a lot more than throw big hits while getting hemmed in his own zone. He has statistically been an elite defender for years, and the only thing stopping him from being an elite overall player has been the total lack of offense in his game.

An excellent top-pairing addition, the only risk/drawback is his age.

His $4.5 million cap hit is something that should be manageable for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Chris Tanev does have a 10 team no trade clause, but I’m sure he’d love to play in front of his family and friends in Toronto, the city where he was born.

There are more rumours about Tanev joining the Leafs than any other player right now.

It makes sense since Tanev is exactly the type of player the Toronto Maple Leafs need, and he could be a perfect fit.

TORONTO, ON – MARCH 27: Ilya Lyubushkin #46 of the Toronto Maple Leafs (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

#1 Ilya Lyubushkin – Anaheim Ducks

Bring back the bear!

His first stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs was short lived, but Ilya Lyubushkin made an impression with the team while he was there.

“The Russian Bear,” Lyubushkin isn’t going to deliver much on the scoresheet, but he’s an aggressive defensive player who can throw a lot of big hits.

He doesn’t see a crazy amount of minutes on most teams, but in his previous trip to Leaf Land, he played a lot with Morgan Reilly on the top pairing 5-on-5, though that may not have necessarily been a good decision by Sheldon Keefe.

He seems to be a player that Keefe trusts and the team is already familiar with. Rumour was that the Leafs tried to resign him in 2022, but he was offered more to play in Buffalo.

The Anaheim Ducks are one of the worst teams in the NHL this season and it is very likely that they’ll be dumping their UFA’s like Ilya Lyubushkin before the trade deadline.

Next. 10 Elite Defensemen Trade Options. dark

His $2.75 million cap hit is very palatable right now, and the Leafs should be able to bring the UFA in for a low pick trade-wise.

Home / Maple Leafs News