By not signing anyone significant in free agency, Brad Treliving has the Toronto Maple Leafs in a really good spot financially.
Mitch Marner is gone, and John Tavares isn’t making $11M anymore, so for the first time in years, Toronto doesn’t have over $40M tied up in four players. But instead of the value mostly coming from the forwards, it’s on the defence corps.
After seeing the contracts given out on July 1 (mostly by the LA Kings), it’s not a stretch to say every single Leafs defenceman is on a good contract. Other than Morgan Rielly, I’d say they’re all on bargains.
But this gives the Leafs a unique advantage on the trade market. Their defencemen aren’t just valuable assets because they’re good players. They’re now even more valuable because they’re cheap.
Let’s take a look at why Toronto should take advantage of this to bolster its top-six.
It’s unbelievable how much difference a year makes, but basically the entire Leafs defence corps signed a contract last year. Other than Morgan Rielly, who makes $7.5M, every extension or signing looks incredible. And I’d even argue Rielly isn’t overpaid… We just saw Cody Ceci sign for $4.5M and Ivan Provorov get $8.5M.
Chris Tanev is on one of the biggest bargains in the league, making $4.5M a year. He is easily a No. 1 defenceman in the NHL and is the Leafs’ anchor. If he signed a short-term deal this summer, he would be pushing $9M AAV.
The same goes for Jake McCabe, who earns just over $4.5M for the next five years.
These two form one of the best shutdown pairs in the league, and easily the Leafs best duo. They were incredible last year in the regular season and the playoffs. And they make $1M more than Provorov combined. Either of them could fetch a top-end forward in a deal, but I don’t see Treliving moving them at all. And he shouldn’t.
The defencemen who I could actually see being moved, and who could still fetch a nice return, are Brandon Carlo and Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Carlo has the next two seasons at just under $3.5M thanks to retention from the Boston Bruins, and OEL has three more years at $3.5M.
Both Carlo and OEL are bona fide second-pair defencemen who are underpaid right now. At the time of the OEL deal, it looked a bit much, but after this summer, I’m firmly placing him in the “underpaid” category.
Carlo is the more enticing asset. He’s younger and plays a much more vanilla role. That’s not a bad thing, quite the opposite, actually, as he would fit on just about every team. Who doesn’t want a tall, defensive specialist second-pair defenceman? And for under $3.5M, his contract is extremely valuable.
Hell, even Simon Benoit could be seen as a steal. His regular season was awful last season, but he showed up in the playoffs and could be exactly what another contender needs.
The trade target for any of these guys needs to be a top-six winger who can play with either Auston Matthews or John Tavares.
It’s the only hole on the Leafs roster left. They don’t need more third liners, they don’t need goalies, and they don’t need defencemen. Right now, they seem forced to play Mattias Maccelli and Max Domi in the top-six. Not ideal.
The best option is Jared McCann. The Leafs legend has scored 118 goals in four years in Seattle, and is the best top-end forward available. He’d slide right into the top-six and add more scoring punch to a team that just lost a 100-point forward.
Bryan Rust is another name, but selling the Penguins on an older defenceman may be tough. They want to rebuild, and they’ll want picks and prospects instead.
Jordan Kyrou could be available, but his history with Berube complicates things. The two did not get along in St. Louis, and there could be lingering beef there.
Instead of depleting the already bare prospect pool, or sending 2030 picks elsewhere, this is the best path to getting another forward. The defence corps might take a hit, but there isn’t any reason to have a $3.5M third pairing guy.
Find another Benoit, just like Florida always does, and plug them on the third pair. Whoever goes will leave a hole, but the bigger worry should be up front. It just makes too much sense.
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