Elliotte Friedman Reveals Maple Leafs' Two New Defensive Targets
The Toronto Maple Leafs are set at forward, but they aren't done adding yet. Elliotte Friedman has revealed the two main targets to bolster the Leafs blueline.
Leafs Defensive Deadline Targets
The Maple Leafs are pretty thin on assets at this point, due to the acquisition of Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues.
This leaves them in a difficult position, where they need an impact piece for cheap. While he gets hated on a lot, Justin Holl is still better than some other defensemen. This means their options are very limited.
Elliotte Friedman, in his most recent iteration of 32 Thoughts has revealed two guys that would make sense, them being Scott Mayfield of the New York Islanders and Radko Gudas of the Florida Panthers.
Mayfield is brilliant defensively and carries only a $1.4-million cap-hit. The only question is if the Islanders are ready to commit to selling for this season.
Gudas is coming off a 2021-22 campaign where he led the league in hits. He is an aggressive physical presence that is hard to play against. He carries a slightly higher cap-hit of $2.5-million. Once again, the only question is if the Florida Panthers are ready to commit to selling.
Kyle Dubas needs to be smart here, but after the O'Reilly acquisition that's already looking like a big win, it's safe to have some faith in him.
The only question is if it will pay off where it really counts - the playoffs.
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 22 | 2494 ANSWERS Elliotte Friedman Reveals Maple Leafs' Two New Defensive Targets Who do you think the Leafs should go after? | ||
| Scott Mayfield | 733 | 29.4 % |
| Radko Gudas | 1010 | 40.5 % |
| Other | 751 | 30.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
![Feb 20, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates scoring against Team Canada during the first period during the 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey championship game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/530920.webp "Feb 20, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates scoring against Team Canada during the first period during the 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey championship game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images")
