The Toronto Maple Leafs Aquire Chris Tanev in a Trade

The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired Chris Tanev from the Dallas Stars.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were quiet Friday night at the opening round of the NHL Entry Draft, but they made a big move on Saturday.

In total, the Leafs made three trades at the draft.

First, they traded down from 23 to 31 with the Ducks and recieved a second round pick, which they then flipped to Florida for a 7th rounder this year and a second rounder next year.

The Leafs then used that extra pick as well as prospect Max Ellis to acquire defenseman Chris Tanev from the Dallas Stars.

The Toronto Maple Leafs Trade for Chris Tanev

Tanev is a 34 year old defenseman who is right haned. He was traded from Calgary to Dallas at this year's trade deadline.

He is an excellent two-way defenseman whose main skill is goal prevention. Unlike most defensive-defenseman (like say Ilya Lyubushkin or Joel Edmundson) Tanev is a very good player who has a discernable positive impact on his team.

As it stands he is a top pairing defenseman and potentially the best partner the Leafs have ever had for Morgan Rielly. Though, to be fair, at one point TJ Brodie was basically elite, so at 35 it's no guarantee that Tanev will be better than Brodie was.

The risk here, assuming the Leafs now sign him to an expensive contract, is relatively high because of the salary cap, but the rewards are also high.

If Tanev is a legitamte top-pairing defenseman, even for one year, the Leafs have a lot better chance of winning the Stanley Cup next season. If he somehow ages well, he could be a massive boon that could help the Leafs for years.

Maybe he ages like Zdeno Chara and the Leafs win multiple Stanley Cups with him leading the back-end. Doubt it, but it's not out of the question. Tanev is so good because he's incredibly intellgent. Speed and offensive skill declines with age, but if you're a player used to succeeding without speed and your contributions weren't offensive to begin with, it stands to reason that such a player could be worth the risk as they age.

Assuming Tanev signs, the Leafs blue-line just got a lot better. They could still use a number-one or at least someone who could develop into one, but Tanev, Rielly, McCabe, Liljegren is well above average top four, and the Leafs clearly aren't going to stop here.