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.
Defence? Toronto isn't left with much draft capital, so it's either someone you can get for a late-round pick or a current defender goes in return. Radko Gudas and Scott Mayfield are two I've thought about, but their teams are in the race. Luke Schenn being held out indicates he's priced out of their range. Generally though, teams believe there is a surplus of rental defence options and are betting costs soften. 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 |
|
8 hours ago | By Chris Gerics Insider Reveals Leafs' Last Resort Trade Option if Plan A Fails |
|
12 hours ago | By Chris Gerics Connor McDavid's Suspension Decision Officially Announced |
|
12 hours ago | By Chris Gerics Jon Cooper Takes a Shot at Maple Leafs Ahead of Divisional Showdown |
|
14 hours ago | By Chris Gerics Major Report Urges Brad Treliving to Explore Trade Talks With Kyle Dubas and the Penguins |
|
15 hours ago | By Chris Gerics Beloved Maple Leafs Announcer Joe Bowen Misses First Game in 40 Years for Heartwarming Reason |
|
17 hours ago | By Chris Gerics New Frontrunners Quickly Emerge to Land J.T. Miller in Trade, per Elliotte Friedman |
|
18 hours ago | By Chris Gerics Leafs Forward Puts Brad Treliving in a Tough Spot Ahead of the Trade Deadline |
|
19 hours ago | By Chris Gerics Former Maple Leafs Breaks Silence on Drug Violation After Contract Termination |
Previously on HockeyPatrol