4. Andrew Peeke - Needs a fresh start with the Toronto Maple Leafs
A guy who could really thrive with a change of scenery in Andrew Peeke. The 25 year-old defenseman averaged over 21 minutes of ice-time for the Columbus Blue Jackets over the past two seasons, but due to the team acquiring Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson in the off-season and perhaps the Blue Jackets coaching change, Peeke has seen significantly less ice-time.
He seems to have fallen out of favour with head coach, Pascal Vincent, and has been a healthy scratch at times. The Colombus Blue Jackets are sitting dead last in the Eastern Conference and Andrew Peeke certainly can not be blamed for that.
Peeke is a stay-at-home defenseman with a large frame. He's a gritty guy who throws his weight around and isn't afraid to sacrifice himself to block a shot. Being a member of the Blue Jackets, he hasn't seen a lot of playoff hockey, but he's built for the playoffs.
A former 34th overall NHL draft pick, Peeke still has potential and it would be great to see what he can do on a good team. His $2.75 million contract is modest and still has two more seasons on it after this one. His contract is an easy one for the Toronto Maple Leafs to accommodate.
On the Toronto Maple Leafs, Peeke would likely fit in on the bottom pairing for now, but I could see him growing into a bigger role in the future. He's another right-shot defenseman and the Maple Leafs never have enough of those.
With the abysmal season the Columbus Blue Jackets have had, some changes need to be made and with the gallery of defenseman on the their roster, Andrew Peeke is likely to be involved in those changes. The Toronto Maple Leafs should sweep in on a cheap deal while the getting's good.