No. 2: Dylan DeMelo
The Leafs have benefited from being able to sign local kids in free agency lately and that would stay consistent if they were able to land Dylan DeMelo.
The London, ON native not only grew up a few hours from Toronto, but played his entire OHL career with the Mississauga Steelheads, so I'm sure he has tons of friends and family close by.
DeMelo wouldn't be a game-changer for the Leafs, but he would be another reliable middle-pair defenseman that can add depth to Morgan Rielly and Jake McCabe.
With Simon Benoit and Connor Timmins currently signed to NHL contracts and two fine pieces in the bottom-six, DeMelo would slide comfortably into the second-paring, with room to add one more big-name in the top-slot beside Rielly.
DeMelo is someone who can match up well against the opponents top-six, block shots and also be physical. Not only that, but he does have an offenisve upside to his game that could help the Leafs on the second power-play, as that was something they were lacking last year. He's essentially just really good at everything, but could really elevate his offensive game by playing with some strong forwards in Toronto.
Coming off a $3M AAV contract, DeMelo is also due for a raise, but it'll be interesting to see how much team's offer him. With the salary-cap going up, I would totally be fine with something around $5M AAV, however if it goes higher than that, I think the Leafs may have to reconsider. As mentioned, DeMelo is a strong defenseman, but he's not someone you want to break the bank for.