3 reasons the Maple Leafs should pull off a blockbuster for Colton Parayko

Parayko would give Toronto a complete player

The Maple Leafs wouldn’t be getting a stay-at-home blueliner, but one who can help out in more than a few situations. Parayko doesn’t give you much on the power play, with about 28.5 minutes on the man advantage this season, but he’s still a force when the Blues are shorthanded, and Toronto could use help when facing opposing power plays. He even has one shorthanded goal and one assist at 4-on-5, so there’s also some scoring potential here.

Even strength and 5-on-5 are different stories when the Blues are in the offensive zone, especially with eight of his nine goals coming in those respective situations. He also has four game-winners to his name this year and an 8.3 shooting percentage, both of which are pretty good for a defenseman. 

He’s also been ultra-durable, logging a career-best 23:51 of average total ice time and missing just five games since the 2021-22 season began. Should Toronto make such a blockbuster trade occur and Parayko keeps bringing a sound two-way approach, then they are getting a complete player for a long time. 

The price tag for a player like Parayko will scare a lot of teams off, but the Maple Leafs have been strong playoff contenders in need of one more game-changer who can finally help them win consistently in the postseason. Parayko putting on arguably his best season yet, his complete game, and sound defensive play are all reasons why Toronto should make a strong push to land him.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference as of February 25th)