The Toronto Maple Leafs have a solid defensive unit, but that doesn’t rule out the team making a move to bring in another one.
Heavy.com has a trade idea that sees the Maple Leafs acquiring Vince Dunn from the Seattle Kraken in an intriguing move.
Maple Leafs acquire:
Kraken acquire:
- Ben Danford
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson
- 2026 third-round pick
The proposed deal would be a blockbuster as Toronto would acquire Dunn from the Kraken for a top defensive prospect, an NHL defenseman, and a mid-round pick. The Maple Leafs go all-in while Seattle gets younger to help out a potential rebuild.
The Maple Leafs would acquire Dunn, who’s entering the third year of his four-year, $29.4 million deal. Dunn would be an offensive defenseman who can run the power play and add some more offense to the lineup. He recorded 11 goals and 28 assists for 39 points in 62 games, which was a down year. But his career high is 64 points, showing his offensive production.
In return, the Maple Leafs would give up a mid-round pick and Danford as the key part of the deal. Danford was Toronto’s first-round pick in 2024 and could push for NHL playing time in the next year or two. Danford is a physical, shutdown defenseman who could be a good second or third-pairing defenseman in the NHL.
The Maple Leafs would also give up Ekman-Larsson, who would replace Dunn in the lineup. Ekman-Larsson is entering the second year of a four-year, $14 million deal with the Maple Leafs. He recorded 4 goals and 25 assists for 29 points in 77 games last season.
Dunn Could Run Maple Leafs’ Power Play
Adding Dunn would be a big move from Treliving, as not only is he a star defenseman, but he can play multiple roles with the team.
The Maple Leafs used five forwards on the power play last season, but Mitch Marner left this offseason, leaving a hole on the power play. With that, Toronto could go back to the traditional four forwards and one defenseman on the power play.
Dunn is running the Kraken’s power play and has been successful in that role. Last season, Dunn had 2 power-play goals and 12 power-play points.
Having a defenseman who can score from the blue line would only make the Maple Leafs’ power play that much better. He’s also good defensively, so he can play in the top four and replace Morgan Rielly’s role, who struggled last season.
Maple Leafs Have a Great Defensive Unit
Although defense isn’t a need for the Maple Leafs, improving it isn’t out of the question.
Toronto has a plethora of NHL-caliber defenseman vying for just seven spots. However, the Maple Leafs’ general manager, Brad Treliving, is happy with his defense but didn’t rule out making a move to his blue line this offseason.
“That’s part of what we’ll do in the summer. In today’s game you need to be active. We need to get more offense from our defense,” Treliving said. “But in terms of personnel, we’ll see. I like the D-corps, but we can’t be rigid.”
Toronto’s blue line is led by Chris Tanev, Rielly, Ekman-Larsson, Jake McCabe, and Brandon Carlo.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Mock Trade Has Maple Leafs Acquiring $29.4M Defenseman appeared first on Heavy Sports.