The Toronto Maple Leafs have been hit by a recent injury double-whammy.
Following Thursday night’s thrilling overtime win, the club officially lost Marshall Rifai and Nick Blankenburg for an undisclosed period. Both defensemen landed on IR, in addition to Chris Tanev.
That situation has put a serious dent in the team’s defensive depth, forcing them to recall Cole McWard and Dakota Mermis.
Both guys are great AHL-level defensemen. But they’re nothing more than short-term help on the NHL roster. That’s why they were called up. But if the Maple Leafs need help for a longer period, they’ll need someone a little steadier.
And that’s why Daemon Hunt could be the solution to the team’s blueline woes.
The Minnesota Wild placed the 24-year-old on waivers on Friday. The former third-round pick from 2020 has played 11 games with the Wild this season, failing to register a point. He’s averaged about 13:30 of ice time per game.
That’s not really the sort of stuff that will knock people’s socks off. But you have to think that he would be a very good fill-in on the third pair. Since Oliver Ekman-Larsson can play on his off-side, Hunt could slide in on the left.
Hunt is a physical presence, clocking in at 6’1” and 201 pounds. He’s a stay-at-home defenseman who can get out of the zone while not really risking silly plays.
In Minnesota, he spent some time on the team’s second pair. That’s fine if the Leafs wanted to partner him with Jake McCabe, allowing Darren Raddysh to take on a more offensive role instead of playing shutdown D with McCabe.
Hunt comes with a 900K cap hit, making him an ideal choice.
Maple Leafs have hit paydirt with the waiver wire before
Hunt could turn out to be another big hit on the waiver wire. Last season, the Maple Leafs faced a similar need with injuries mounting. The Edmonton Oilers placed Troy Stecher on waivers, and, well, the Buds did not hesitate.
This situation could very well be a case of history repeating.
Hunt is a solid, if unspectacular, NHL defenseman. And judging from the way things turned out with Stecher, it wouldn’t be a crazy idea to give Hunt a chance.
On Thursday night against the Rangers, Stecher scored a beauty of a game-winning goal. The tally brought Scotiabank Arena to its feet and validated the faith that the Maple Leafs have had in Stecher.
If Hunt turns out to be anything like Stecher, the Maple Leafs could end up filling a major short-term need with a long-term outlook.
Let’s see what happens. There’s a chance that someone else ahead of the Leafs claims Hunt. But considering that the wire is still using last season’s standings to determine selection order, the Leafs have only four other teams ahead of them.
This could be a situation in which the Maple Leafs could end up with another under-the-radar masterstroke.
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