3 former Toronto Maple Leafs who could return on a PTO

No. 2: Tyson Barrie

There's no question that Barrie's game fell off once he joined the Leafs, but he could be worth an investment as a depth defenseman. When you look at the Leafs blue-line right now, it's a lot better than what it previously was, but it still doesn't have a lot of offense.

The Leafs have slightly improved their ability to move pucks from the back-end this summer, but they still aren't at the level you would consider ideal, especially with all the star forwards they employ.

The Leafs showed how important the ability to move the puck is last year when they failed to score more than two goals in all but one game against the Bruins in the playoffs after loading up on defensive players at the deadline.

Therefore, if the Leafs want to improve on an obvious weakness, Tyson Barrie is an ideal addition. On this current blue-line, he would probably be the no. 7 defender, but he could fill a role similar to what Erik Gustafsson did.

Gustafsson provided offensive upside for the Leafs, but only apperared in nine regular season games during his time because he wasn't as defensively-sound. However, when he was in the line-up, he contributed four assists and was a nice option on the second power-play.

When Barrie was with the Leafs, he played a much bigger role than he needed, so he got exposed, but in the right situation, he can still be a valuable player. You can never have enough depth on defense, so bringing in Barrie on a PTO to find for a spot could be a great wake-up call for him as he looks to resurrect his career.