5 Defenseman Toronto Maple Leafs Must Sign In Free Agency
It's no secret that the Toronto Maple Leafs need to go big-game hunting for a UFA defenseman (or three) this offseason.
Throughout history, the Toronto Maple Leafs have not done a great job at acquiring top defensive talent via free agency. Whether it was John Klingberg or Mike Komisarek as bad examples, you have to go all the way back to Borje Salming to find a legitimate stud they found in free agency.
There's a reason why it's so hard to find that marquee defenseman via free agency. It's because teams have a hard time letting those types of players get to free agency because they're so valuable.
The same thing applies to goalies and it's why there have been three monster netminder trades this offseason already, compared to acquiring these players via free agency.
Although it's harder to find that top-tier defenseman via free agency versus trade, there's a lot of quality defenders in the 2024 UFA class.
There isn't an elite defender who wiill contend for a Norris Trophy, but there are still some solid pieces that will help the depth and legitimize a team's top-four.
Personally, I still think the Leafs need to trade one of their top forwards so they can acquire that number-one defenseman, but if the team can acquire two of the top-five UFA defenseman, it'll set them up well to contend next year.
Anyway, here are five UFA defenseman the Toronto Maple Leafs must try to sign this offseason.
No. 1: Chris Tanev
Chris Tanev is someone who GM Brad Treliving knows very well and who is oviously on their radar since they traded for him Saturday.
At 34-years-old, Tanev is a perfect fit for the Leafs and is the exact player that Treliving is looking for. He's a big-bodied defenseman who can play a physical game, but is also a shot-blocking machine.
He finishes with well over 100 blocked shots each campaign and even finished with 207 blocked shots last year.
By getting in front of every puck, it would put so much less pressure on young goaltender Joseph Woll next year, as Tanev's fantastic defensive abilities will limit offensive opportunities.
During his playoff run with the Stars these past few months, he was the team's best defenseman and was a huge reason why they made it to the Western Conference Finals.
Tanev is also a Toronto kid, which should help the team's case, as they've continued to acquire local players via free agency over the past few years. Money is still an important factor in these decisions but the ties to the city, plus the need for a top-two defenseman should make Tanev very intrigued to play in his hometown.
The Leafs number-one target is obviously Tanev but hopefully the deal isn't to long or expensive.
No. 2: Brandon Montour
The one negative on Montour is the fact that he's an offensive-first defenseman.
However, he did just average 23:26 TOI on a Stanley Cup winning team, so he deserves some credit.
The Brantford, ON native is another local defenseman who could be intrigued to join his hometown squad.
After winning that elustrious Stanley Cup, he may think that this is the perfect time to join Toronto, as he could be that missing piece they need to finally snap their championship draught.
As mentioned, Montour's biggest strength is his offense, which is actually the Leafs most pressing need.
He has shown an ability to score at an elite-level and the Leafs could use another offensively-minded defenseman. I know that may scare fans because John Klinberg was a similar type of player as Montour, but Klingberg's defenisve abilities were not as strong as Montour's.
Montour is a legitimate top-pairing defenseman, who can play in every situation and will compete hard on every play, so he should be very high on the Leafs list.
As much as Montour would solve a lot of issues, his price-tag and term may be unaffordable for the Leafs, as I'm sure he'll be looking for something around $8M x seven years on the open-market.
No. 3: Brady Skjei
Skjei is a veteran two-way defender who may be the most underrated defenseman in this free agency class.
I'm not sure if it's because he plays on Carolina or because he's been overshadowed by other bigger name defenders there, or because his last name is hard to pronounce, but Skjei should high on the Leafs radar this offseason.
Skjei has shown some elite offensive skill over the past two seasons, finishing with 18 and 13 goals respectively, but it's his size that should make the Leafs most intrigued.
At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Skjei would be a perfect fit on the team's top blue-line and would seriously help this team.
The reason why Skjei should be high on the Leafs list is because he's a fantastic skater who will help move the puck up the ice.
However, he can also play that shutdown role and defend the opposition's top player. Despite being such a strong skater, he could be better at quarterbacking the power-play, but that could improve playing alongside Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares.
All signs point towards the Hurricanes trying their hardest to re-sign Skjei, but if they can't come to a deal, the Leafs should jump on it and acquire him.
The left-handed defenseman would be a huge boost to a depleted unit and someone who would hep the team tremendously.
No. 4: Matt Roy
Roy is one of those reliable defenders, who plays in every situation and does everything you ask.
He's not flashy and is not going to put up huge offensive stats, but he's going to be a solid top-four defender who will help.
The average fan probably isn't as familiar with his game because he doesn't put up the big stats, but he's a quiet effective player.
To compare him to a current Leafs defender, he's essentially a right-handed Jake McCabe. We don't praise McCabe as much as we should because he does everything well, but doesn't put up points, so we sometimes bypass his skill.
Coming off a $3.15M AAV contract, Roy will get a pay-raise on the open-market, but I wouldn't expect his AAV to be much higher than $5M per season.
For a top-four defender, the Leafs shouldn't have any issue giving Roy that type of money, especially since he's not even 30-years-old, yet.
As much as Roy would help the Leafs, he's not a top-pairing defenseman that this team desperately needs, so they shouldn't overpay for his talents, but for the right price, he's someone who will make this team better.
No. 5: Nikita Zadorov
This may be the most intriguing option for the Leafs because of Zadorov's size. At 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, fans would fall in love with Zadorov immediately.
Not only is Zadorov's size so intriguing because he's willing to hit anyone who comes near him, but he's also been known to score some fancy goals.
During the Vancouver Canucks playoff run last year, Zadorov finished with four goals and eight points, which would have led the Leafs in scoring.
Although Zadorov's size is very appealing and someone who seems to fit any playoff team, he can find himself stuck in his own end, much longer than you'd hope. However, at the same time, he also has a fantastic ability at rushing the puck up the ice, despite being so big.
As much as I'd love to see Zadorov sign with the Leafs, I think there's going to be a bidding war for his services and someone is going to over pay for his services.
Although he'd be a good fit, he's not someone you want to over pay and definitely not someone you want to give a long term contract.
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At $3.75M AAV last year, Zadorov would have been a great fit on the Leafs blue-line, but all signs point towards him having a contract around $5M AAV or more, which may be too much. Then again, there's the chance he's a late-blooming top-pairing guy and not the 3rd pairing guy he's been to date. High-risk high-reward is the name of the game when it comes to Zadorov.