Toronto Maple Leafs Should Sign These 3 UFA Defenseman
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be targeting the defenseman market during free agency this summer, with three players in particular.
When you think of the Toronto Maple Leafs needs, defense is their number-one priority. Although, you could argue that secondary scoring and goaltending should be the primary help, the easiest way to improve this team is by signing a few marquee defenseman via free agency.
Acquiring a number-one goalie is still a necessary need, but that's a lot harder than signing a few defenseman. There are just not any top goalies available in free agency right now that in order to acquire one, they'd have to trade for them. As such, adding defenseman is the easiest way to improve this team tomorrow, as they don't have to give up anything to get them.
All they have to do is write a cheque and convince them to join the Leafs and the team will improve drastically by adding three defenseman.
The Leafs currently have the NHL's longest playoff streak, reaching the post-season eight years in a row, yet it feels like they need a huge change.
Instead, the Leafs are legitimatally one or two moves away and a lucky break from reaching the Stanley Cup Finals. If Joseph Woll is healthy and Auston Matthews scores one more goal in a playoff series, this team can beat anyone. They've unfortunately fallen apart in Game 7's and it hasn't worked out, but it doesn't mean it never will.
Here are three UFA defenseman that the Toronto Maple Leafs need to sign this offseason.
No. 1: Nikita Zadorov
if the Leafs can only land one big-name UFA defenseman this summer, it better be Nikita Zadorov. GM Brad Treliving is very familiar with this player, as he's signed him on two occasions during free agency and gave him a team-friendly deal both times.
Unfortunately, I can't really see his deal being too team-friendly anymore, as his stock rose tremendously this season.
Zadorov is everything that the Leafs have been missing for years. Standing tall at 6-foot-6, 235 pounds, he's a physical player that is just reaching his prime.
At 29-years-old, I think the Leafs need to get aggressive with their pursuit of Zadorov and shouldn't be afraid to offer him a six or seven year contract.
I know that seems high for someone who doesn't typically contribute much offensively, but he's the exact piece that Toronto is missing.
Despite not typically scoring during the regular season, Zadorov would've led the Leafs in scoring this playoff-run, as he finished with four goals and eight points in 13 playoff games. His physicality and ability to play hard minutes in the playoffs with the Vancouver Canucks this season should make him the Leafs top target this offseason.
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.
No. 3: Chris Tanev
It's funny that a lot of us have continued to make fun of Treliving for his moves, yet we keep wanting this team to sign players that he recently signed (ie. Zadorov and Tanev).
After watching Tanev in the playoffs with the Dallas Stars, it became very apparrant that the Leafs could use his services. He was a block-shot machine, was hitting everyone in sight and played extremely hard minutes every night. Averaging 22:18 TOI, Tanev was used in critical situations for Dallas and shined in the biggest moments.
One of the best ways I've seen someone describe Tanev is that he "empties the tank on every shift", which is a trait that you can't say about many Leafs lately. This team's identiy is one that falls under lazy and Tanev is the complete opposite of that. At 34-years-old, this is most likely his last big NHL contract before retirement, so he may chase the money, but at the same time, he's never won a Stanley Cup, so a winning team with potential could be more to his liking.
Not only is Toronto still in a solid window to win a Stanley Cup, but Tanev is a local kid from Toronto, so that could intrigue him to return home. This market shouldn't scare him, as he's already played 14 years in a Canadian market and should be able to handle it fine.
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If Tanev can play the way he did in the playoffs this year with Dallas, his shot-blocking ability will make him a top-pairing defenseman on the Leafs, but his age does worry me a bit. Regardless, I think he's worth the risk and the Leafs should seriously consider signing him this offseason.