Toronto Maple Leafs: Can Treliving Land These Defenseman
There is no arguing that despite two wins in California so far this week by the Toronto Maple Leafs, they still lack one or two top-four defenseman on the team.
Currently, the Toronto Maple Leafs have Morgan Rielly who is a bonified top pairing defenseman, while Timothy Liljegren is starting to show that he is a top four defender that fans had been hoping for since he was selected in the first round in 2017.
However, outside of those two players the team lacks defenders that should be playing more than 18 minutes a night, which, if the team hopes to go deep into the playoffs, they need an upgrade.
While there has been talk of adding veterans like Calgary's Chris Tanev or Anaheim's Ilya Lybushkin, I'm not convinced that either of these players are any better than the glutten of bottom pairing defenders the Maple Leafs already have.
So, the question arises as who should GM Brad Treliving should target in a trade?
Toronto Maple Leafs: Can Treliving Land These Defenseman
Noah Hanifin - Calgary Flames
The easiest answer is Noah Hanifin. The 27-year-old left-handed shot defenseman is in the final year of his deal that comes with a cap hit of just under $5 Million.
Hanifin has been a top four defenseman in the league for several years and has averaged nearly 23-minutes over the last two seasons for the Calgary Flames. He is the biggest impact defenseman that is known to be on the open market and would be an immediate upgrade on the Maple Leafs.
What is likely holding back from acquiring Hanifin is the cost in a trade and not knowing if you would get more than a stretch run with him.
There are reports that the former fifth overall pick wants to head back to the United States to play for a new team and if Treliving can't get an extension agreed upon, it may be better to check on some other players that may resolve the defense issue longer term before circling back.
Who Could the Leafs Add?
MacKenzie Weegar - Calgary Flames
A longer solution to fix the backend is to acquire Hanifin's teammate MacKenzei Weegar. The former Florida Panther is in year one of an eight-year deal that carries a salary cap hit of $6.25 Million per season.
Like Hanifin, Weegar would immediately help the top four and the now veteran defenseman has averaged over 22-minutes for the past four seasons recording 133-points in his past 252 games while getting limited time on the powerplay.
The only way Flames GM Craig Conroy looks to move on from Weegar is if he is looking to make a drastic change in the organization as he would have just Rasmus Andersson signed past this season.
If Treliving were to acquire Weegar, it would be beneficial to get the Flames to retain a portion of the salary, similar to what the Maple Leafs traded Phil Kessel to the Pittsburgh Penguins during their remodel.
To Toronto: MacKenzie Weegar (15% salary retention)
To Calgary: T.J. Brodie, Nick Robertson, Conor Timmins, 2026 1st Round Pick
Even though Weeger is in the first year of a long deal, the Flames may be more open to trading him that you'd think. The fact is, they clearly need to embark on a long rebuild, and Weegar will be long past his prime by the time the Flames are ready to compete again.
Both the player and team expected them to be a contender when the contract was signed, and that clearly isn't happening, so it's not impossible they'd consider moving him.
A Third Option for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Jakob Chychrun - Ottawa Senators
A name that has not been out in the media but could be seeing his time come to end in Ottawa is 25-year old Jakob Chychrun.
The Ottawa Senators are having another horrendous season where they look like they will miss the playoffs for the seventh straight season.
Although the team acquired the sharp shooting defenseman just over nine months ago, the franchise has not been able to make a drive for the playoffs and he has only one more season left of his $4.6 Million contract before he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
The only way new general manager Steve Staois even considers the trade is if he feels the team won't be able to sign Chychrun to an extension this summer.
The Florida native has been playing over 20-minutes a night since his sophomore year in 2017-18, while hovering around the 23-minute mark the last four seasons.
Ottawa outbid Toronto when they acquired Chychrun from the Arizona Coyotes when they gave up what turned out to be the 12th overall pick last draft, along with a pair of second round picks.
To Toronto: Jakob Chychrun
To Ottawa: Topi Niemelä, 2024 1st Round Pick, 2024 3rd Round Pick (NYI)
Going Forward
If the Leafs could pull off two of these three trades, they would likely be the two biggest impact trades during the Auston Matthews era and might be a pipe dream. Weegar has a full no trade clause, while Hannifin and Chychrun each have ten team no trade clauses, so those details would need to be ironed out.
Treliving may need to include either Easton Cowan or Fraser Minten in one or both of the deals to get it done, but it would put the team as a favourite to come out of the Eastern Conference. If these deals could happen the Maple Leafs are looking at a defense group for the next two season that consists of:
Rielly-Weegar
Chyrchun/Hannifin-Liljegren
McCabe-Benoit
That is a lot better than they currently have, and might just be one of the NHL's best blue-lines, were it to come to fruition.
Next. The Leafs Top 10 Prospects 2024. The Leafs Top 10 Prospects 2024. dark
Treliving has failed at many things as GM for both the Flames and Maple Leafs, but this could turns things around quickly for him.