Third Line Addition Emerges for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Answering All Their Needs
With all the talk about who the Toronto Maple Leafs can bring in from an NHL team, they may best look across the pond to Europe and try to sign Oskar Lindblom.
Brad Treliving is going to make a trade for the Maple Leafs one way or another and there's a lot of talk about the right pieces being brought in, and whether the cost is too high or the pieces aren't enough to help Toronto win.
They don't necessarily need to make a trade though to add to their insurance depth, as the team could look to Europe and try to pry forward Oskar Lindblom away from the SHL.
Oskar Lindblom A Great Free Agent Signing For The Maple Leafs
While technically not a free agent, the Maple Leafs could field an offer to Lindblom and pay his current club Brynäs IF for his services.
Tony DeAngelo recently signed a deal with the Islanders so the precedent is there.
A former 5th round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2014, Lindblom enjoyed a solid, if unspectacular NHL career. He has 112 points in 337 games, with his best season coming in 2018-19 where he scored 17 goals and 16 assists in 81 games for the Flyers.
His last season in the NHL came in 2023-24 where he spent the majority of the year with San Jose's AHL affiliate the San Jose Barracuda where he scored 16 points in 41 games.
This season with Brynäs IF, he has 11 goals and 11 assists in 37 games and currently sits in first place in the SHL.
Lindblom would be a perfect third line addition to the team, as he's a big-body at 6'2, 195 pounds, throws hits, blocks shots, plays defense, can work both the power play and penalty kill, and can fill in at center in a pinch.
Toronto's lack of offense from anyone who isn't in their Top 6 is a frightening stat heading into the playoffs, and adding insurance like Lindblom could pay off huge.
Putting Lindblom on a line with Bobby McMann and Max Domi could be a big sparkplug for the bottom half's offense, as McMann and Lindblom can crash the net and use their speed to dictate the pace and Domi can use his playmaking to set up a reliable goal scorer.
He also only made $2.5M when he last played, and while he will be looking for a decent deal, coming over to Toronto for a few months at a $1M deal and the chance to win a Stanley Cup should be enough to entice the Swede.
It's definitely a long shot, and there's certainly a lot of factors that play into Lindblom coming over, but if Toronto wants a chance to strengthen their roste; it might be worth a look to make a call to Brynäs.
