Maple Leafs: 3 Defencemen to Target in Free Agency

I have looked at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ top and bottom six in my most recent articles, now it’s time to turn our attention to the team’s defensive core. The team made moves at the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline to bring in more defensive-minded players, such as Jake McCabe and Luke Schenn. McCabe is signed for the next two seasons, and Schenn is an unrestricted free agent (UFA) as of July 1, 2023.

The expectation is that Schenn will be re-signed by the team to play alongside Morgan Rielly, which had success in the postseason. As for McCabe, he seemed to struggle in his short time with the team but should be able to play more consistently when he has an entire season with the club under his belt.

Stone doesn’t offer a lot of offensive upsides, but he can be a big-body presence who blocks shots and clears the front of the net. In 48 games with the Flames this season, he had 59 blocks and 54 hits, which is solid for a sixth or seventh defence. As for Stone’s contract, it should be for the league minimum, $750K for a season, and he can be pencilled in for around 40-50 games.

Matt Dumba

Matt Dumba could be the perfect replacement for Holl. He likes to get into shooting lanes and block shots, as well as throw his body around. He can be pencilled in for around 100 hits and blocks in a season and still take on a good portion of ice time against the opposition’s best on a nightly basis, which is a nice asset to have on the backend.

Dumba has averaged 20:37 of ice time in his career, and on the Maple Leafs would most likely see 20:00-21:00 minutes per night. He would also be expected to replace Holl on the penalty kill (PK) alongside Schenn, Brodie and McCabe. Together, they could be a very reliable defensive unit.

Dumba is coming off the worst season of his career, with 14 points in 79 games. He is also coming off of a contract that paid him $6 million per season for five years, which could be considered an overpayment by the end. Due to this, Toronto should offer him $8 million over two seasons, with an AVV of $4 million per season.

Treliving is expected to make changes ahead of next season. The Maple Leafs have so many UFAs that it seems there will at least be a handful of new players. Leafs Nation will see new forwards, defence and potentially even a new goalie and f Treliving’s time with the Flames is any inclination, Toronto should be a rough-and-tough team to play against next season.