There’s the defensive help the Toronto Maple Leafs needed.
The Arizona Coyotes have traded defenseman Conor Timmins to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forward Curtis Douglas.
Timmins, 24, has been plagued with injury issues over the past few years. He once missed 18 months with a concussion sustained during his junior hockey career. The 2017 second-round pick by Colorado played just eight games with the Coyotes over the past two seasons, with last year getting shortened to just six games after a knee injury ended his season early. Timmins had three assists in six games with AHL Tuscon this year.
Timmins was originally acquired in the deal that sent Darcy Kuemper to the Colorado Avalanche back in 2021.
With a fully healthy lineup, Timmins would likely find himself on the waiver wire in Toronto. Right now, he’ll help give the team some decent two-way depth after losing Morgan Rielly to a knee injury earlier this week. Jake Muzzin and T.J. Brodie are also out, leaving Toronto without three of its top four defensemen.
Douglas, 22, has spent the season with the Toronto Marlies, recording one assist in 13 games. Known more for his physical play, Douglas’ offense dried up significantly this season after scoring 13 goals and 34 points in 67 games last year. If Douglas was to make the NHL – and he has a better shot of that in Arizona than Toronto – he’d be the tallest NHL forward ever at 6-foot-9.
It’s a depth move for both teams, but a move that makes sense. Timmins was lost in the Coyotes lineup after two years of dealing with injuries and needed a fresh start. Douglas will also have a shot at a fresh start, leaving his hometown Marlies team to join a Tuscon Roadrunners team that doesn’t have a ton of size up front.
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