Leafs Reporter Urges Brad Treliving to Acquire Stanley Cup Champion Defenseman
Brad Treliving and the Toronto Maple Leafs need to make a splash at the deadline, and should target a rival defenseman in order to shore up their blueline.
With a lot of talk about who the Maple Leafs should bring in when it comes to the trade deadline, there are several names who could help the team though they all come at varying costs in terms of prospects and picks.
But if the team wanted to go the cheap route to shore up some holes on defense, they should look to their rivals the Montreal Canadiens and look to add David Savard according to a new report.
David Savard A Cheap And Reliable Shutdown Defender For Maple Leafs
Jonas Siegel of The Athletic wrote recently about certain pieces the Maple Leafs could add to their team in order to fix some glaring holes in their lineup.
On the topic of defense, he named Luke Schenn, Colton Parayko, and David Savard as potential targets:
It seems unlikely that the Maple Leafs want to commit even more money to their defense after they have so much tied down to Morgan Rielly, Chris Tanev, Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
So eschewing another huge contract on their books (that will be hard to afford with their other signings anyways) would Savard be a good option for Toronto?
Yes, considering the team lacks one more true shutdown defender. Simon Benoit is not it, and Morgan Rielly could really use a better partner to cover for his mistakes.
Savard is a big boy at 6'1, 235 pounds and would give the team a lot of those intangibles Craig Berube loves.
He blocks shots (122), kills penalties, plays gritty and gets down in the corners, and has winning pedigree; having won a Stanley Cup in 2021 with Tampa Bay.
Not really offensive, Savard has one goal and 10 assists in 50 games this season, and for his career only has 238 points in 845 games.
But with those 845 games comes 1566 blocks and 1457 hits; good for averages of 152 and 141 per season respectively so he's known for playing stout defense.
A free agent at season's end, Savard only makes $3.5M and wouldn't cost Toronto much in terms of assets given his age and contract; potentially only a third round pick.
With Toronto wanting to make a deal but struggling to figure out whether to break the bank or not, they need to look at David Savard for a cheap and reliable option for their inconsistent defense.
![Feb 20, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Matthew Tkachuk (19) shakes hands with Team Canada forward Sidney Crosby (87) after overtime win by Team Canada 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/531510.webp "Feb 20, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Matthew Tkachuk (19) shakes hands with Team Canada forward Sidney Crosby (87) after overtime win by Team Canada during the 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey championship game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images")
![Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on against Team Finland in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/531249.webp "Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on against Team Finland in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images")
![Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on against Team Finland in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/531292.webp "Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on against Team Finland in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images")
