Toronto Maple Leafs Add Joel Edmundson But It's Not Enough
The Toronto Maple Leafs still need to make an upgrade or two before the NHL trade deadline on Friday.
Can Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving make a big push to land the helpful pieces his team needs?
Hopefully, the answer is yes because adding Ilya Lyubushkin and Joel Edmunson is not enough.
The Leafs Need More
The Toronto Maple Leafs adding a couple of depth defenseman is nice, but it won't fix all their problems. Treliving should try to add a higher class of defenseman and make an upgrade over David Kampf.
I would count the deadline as a success for Treliving if he can deliver those things. However, the end goal is to win the Stanley Cup. So, no matter how well Treliving does at the trade deadline, the season is a failure without the cup.
The Leafs are linked to almost every player available as the trade deadline approaches. The list of players changes every day, but the Leafs always appear to be in the mix. I hope Treliving can acquire the right players to help the Leafs have a deep playoff run. He may find it difficult to land the player he wants, as he is reportedly telling other teams that Matthew Knies, Easton Cowan, and Fraser Minten are not available.
Here is my final look at which three defensemen the Leafs should try to acquire before the 3:00 pm trade deadline on Friday. I believe that the Leafs greatest need is their defense. Hopefully, Treliving will be able to acquire one of these defensemen.
Colton Parayko
Colton Parayko is a big 6'6", 228 Lbs right-shooting defenseman. The 30-year-old would give the Leafs a solid defense partner for Morgan Rielly on the top defense pairing. Parayko is averaging 23:55 minutes of ice time this season. He has registered nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 62 games. However, the offense is only a small part of his overall game. He has 83 hits, 165 blocked shots, and 52 takeaways compared to 33 giveaways.
(All stats from hockey-reference.com)
Adding Parayko to a Leafs blueline that already has Simon Benoit, Jake McCabe, Joel Edmundson and Ilya Lyubushkin would make the Leafs end of the ice a not-so-nice place to be.
Having four or five defensemen willing to play the hard physical style that is required in the playoffs is something the Leafs need at their disposal. Punish the other team every time they enter the Leafs zone and make them think twice and keep their heads on a swivel.
At a certain point however, mobility and puck-moving abilities matter, and Parayko may no longer be a fit with what the Leafs have. However, he is a great skater and extremely mobile. He could revive his career with the Leafs, and either Lyubushkin or Benoit can come off the bench if necessary. This would still be a major upgrade.
There are two problems facing the Leafs in any attempt to acquire Parayko. First, he has a no-trade clause in his contract. The St. Louis Blues would need to get Parayko to agree to the trade before they can make it. Hopefully, the St. Albert, Alberta native will agree to a trade to the Leafs.
Second, Parayko is signed until the end of the 2029-30 season with a salary cap hit of $6.5 million. He will be 36 when the contract expires. For a contract that long, it's very unlikely that the Blues will be willing to retain any of his salary. The Leafs will need to be creative.
(Salary cap info from capfriendly.com)
David Savard
David Savard is a 6'1", 235 Lbs right-shooting defenseman. The 33-year-old could be a good defense partner for Morgan Rielly on the top defense pairing. Savard is averaging 20:33 minutes of ice time this season. He has registered five goals and ten assists for 15 points in 40 games. Savard also has 51 hits and 109 blocked shots.
The Leafs adding Savard to their blueline would make the Leafs end of the ice more difficult to play in. Having him join Benoit, McCabe, and Lyubushkin could be fun to watch. Now that they've added Edmundson, they probably don't have interest in Savard. You can have too much of a good thing.
That said, Savard is a step above what the Leafs have and Benoit could always make a nice next-man-up. All of them are willing to play the hard physical style required in the playoffs. Would be great to have something like that at the Leafs disposal. Punishing the other team every time they enter the Leafs zone would make them think twice and keep their heads on a swivel.
Can you really have too many solid defenseman? I'd still consider Savard desite getting Edmundson.
Acquiring Savard would be easier than Parayko. Savard doesn't have a no-trade clause in his contract. His contract is up at the end of next season. The salary cap for Savard is much lower than Parayko's. It is $3.5 million until the end of the next season. Now, getting a divisional rival such as the Montreal Canadiens to agree to a trade may prove to be difficult. It does happen occasionally, but not often. Savard would be a decent trade option if the Leafs lose out on Parayko.
Matt Dumba
Mathew Dumba is a 6'0", 181 Lbs right-shooting defenseman. The 29-year-old would make a good defense partner for Morgan Rielly on the Leafs top defense pairing. Dumba is averaging 20:04 minutes of ice time this season. He has registered four goals and six assists for ten points in 58 games. Dumba also has 150 hits and 84 blocked shots.
Adding Dumba to their blueline would make the Leafs end harder to play. Having him along with Benoit, McCabe, and Lyubushkin could be fun to watch. All four are willing to play the hard physical style required in the playoffs. Would be great for the Leafs to have something like that at their disposal. Watching the Leafs punish their opponents whenever they enter the Leafs zone would be entertaining.
Unlike Savard or Parayko, Dumba will be a rental if acquired by the Leafs. Dumba will be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) this summer. He doesn't have a no-trade clause in his contract, so that is not an issue. The salary cap for Dumba is lower than Parayko's but slightly higher than Savard's. Dumba has a salary cap hit of $3.9 million. Trading for a player with term is better than trading for a rental, but Dumba is a rental I think the Leafs would be willing to acquire.
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No matter which player Treliving adds before the deadline on Friday, I hope it's the right one. We will find out soon enough if it is any of these three defensemen I just mentioned.