Is there another Jake McCabe scenario to be found for the Leafs at the 2025 NHL trade deadline?

Jake McCabe is an essential part of the Toronto Maple Leafs and in many ways, he defines what the team aspires to be. McCabe is a physical presence who operates as the team’s best point-of-attack defender, he provides secondary offence and he’s formed an elite shutdown pairing with Chris Tanev. He’s become an indispensable part of the team, signing a five-year extension worth $4.51 million in October.

It’s easy to forget at times, but the Maple Leafs acquired McCabe at the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, where the Chicago Blackhawks retained $2 million of his salary for each year of his existing contract. It’s a favour that has paid dividends for the Maple Leafs, allowing the team to retain a stellar, top-pair defenceman for a digestible acquisition cost, which becomes of paramount importance given the team’s limited salary cap room.

Is there another McCabe-like scenario for the Maple Leafs to explore at this year’s trade deadline? We’re looking into a few possible candidates who reasonably fit the bill.

All stats from NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick, current prior to Tuesday’s games. 

Rasmus Ristolainen

Ristolainen is a polarizing player, with a hefty $5.1 million salary attached through the 2026-27 campaign. The 30-year-old defenceman is a plus-skater with a towering frame, the archetype of a player Brad Treliving covets on the back end. Ristolainen has never been able to maximize the totality of his skill set, he’s prone to defensive lapses, but he does constitute an upgrade for the Maple Leafs, with the ability to contribute secondary offence, recording four goals and 19 points in 58 games for the Philadelphia Flyers, prior to Tuesday’s action.

The idea of Ristolainen may be difficult for some to stomach, but he’s quietly better than his defensive reputation suggests. Ristolainen is a -8 at 5-on-5, but the Flyers have controlled just under 52 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5 when he’s on the ice, and he’s formed a strong pairing with Yegor Zamula, with a 57.4 percent expected goals share at 5-on-5 as a pairing. The trickier part is managing his salary, and the Maple Leafs will need the Flyers to retain 50 percent of his contract, while sending a roster player, and perhaps a 2025 second-round pick in order to facilitate the trade. It’s an inexact comparison in some ways, but Ristolainen could provide some bottom-pair value for a Leafs team that shouldn’t be too concerned about remaining agile for the future.

Brandon Carlo

Is it possible for the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs to complete a trade? Carlo is owed $4.1 million annually through the 2026-27 season and he may be the superior option to Ristolainen after all. The 28-year-old has spent his entire career with the Bruins, he’s intimately familiar with the Atlantic Division and he would slot in perfectly as an ideal No. 4 defenceman.

Carlo has recorded one goal and nine points in 61 games for the Bruins and his counting stats may underrate his overall impact, although the Bruins have controlled fewer than 46 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5 when he’s been on the ice, in consecutive seasons. Boston will be entertaining a few calls for Carlo ahead of the deadline, and the Calgary Flames are pursuing the right-shot defender, Daily Faceoff’s Anthony DiMarco reports. It seems very doubtful that the Bruins would retain salary on a player to help a divisional rival out, and the Maple Leafs would need to trade a roster player and a future asset to make it happen.

Bowen Byram

Bowen Byram is 23 years old, he’s won a Stanley Cup, he’s an excellent puck-moving defenceman with great offensive ability, and he’s seemingly on the trade block for reasons that don’t make sense immediately. He has recorded seven goals and 29 points in 59 games for the Buffalo Sabres this season, while boasting a plus-16 rating at 5-on-5. Byram is slated to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, so if the Leafs were to acquire him, they would have to be certain that he would sign a long-term deal in the offseason.

Byram would be more than worth it, as he’d represent the most important long-term under-25 player the Maple Leafs have on the roster, with Matthew Knies as the lone exception. Buffalo would likely want Toronto’s 2026 first-round pick and a few future assets, and given the contention window for Toronto, it’s something it should absolutely accommodate if Byram is indeed available.

Matt Grzelcyk

Grzelcyk is a known quantity at this stage of his career, as he can provide decent value while logging anywhere from 17-20 minutes per game, and like Carlo, he has strong base familiarity with the Atlantic Division rivals. The 31-year-old is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, so this could be a rental and not necessarily similar to McCabe, unless the Maple Leafs sign him to a market value deal upon completing the trade, or immediately during the free agency window.

An opportunity to win a Stanley Cup would be alluring for Grzelcyk, who spent the first eight seasons of his career with a Bruins team that was always in pursuit of a championship. Could Brad Treliving and Kyle Dubas complete a deal before Friday? Don’t rule Grzelcyk out as a possibility.