A pair of NHL Insiders link the Leafs to a number of defensemen on the trade market following Jake Muzzin news
The Leafs have a gaping hole in the lineup after the injury to Jake Muzzin was confirmed to be worse than originally suspected. The hole is not one that Jordie Benn or Victor Mete will be capable of filling and while Kyle Dubas is willing to give it some time to see if Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin can pick up Muzzin's assignments, neither player is really that "heavy hockey" type of defenseman. Simply put, the Leafs may have to look outside of the organization for a solution.
During a recent edition of his 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed that the Leafs do have a certain level of interest in Arizona's Jakob Chychrun but, like Muzzin, there are tremendous health concerns there. Chychrun has never played a full 82-game season in his NHL career and often struggles to stay healthy, so giving up premium assets may not be wise for the Leafs.
However, The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta revealed the names of four other defenders who should be available - some of whom may better suit the needs of the Leafs. Pagnotta listed Anaheim's Kevin Shattenkirk, Columbus' Vladislav Gavrikov, Vancouver's Luke Schenn and Seattle's Carson Soucy as blueliners that might interest the Buds.
Of these names, Carson Soucy stands out to me the most as someone who could come in and help the Leafs replace some of what they're losing in Muzzin. Soucy, 28, is a 6'5 defender who likes to throw his weight around, block shots and someone who is capable of coming in and playing around 17 or 18 minutes per night for the Buds.
Soucy is in the final year of a 3-year, $8.25M deal, which he signed with the Minnesota Wild back in October of 2020. Soucy was selected by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021-22 Expansion Draft. His cap hit is around half of Muzzin's, coming in at just $2.75M, though he is on the books for $3.5M this season in terms of his actual salary.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 15 | 265 ANSWERS A pair of NHL Insiders link the Leafs to a number of defensemen on the trade market following Jake Muzzin news Who should the Leafs go after to replace Muzzin? | ||
| Chychrun | 60 | 22.6 % |
| Gavrikov | 18 | 6.8 % |
| Soucy | 129 | 48.7 % |
| Other | 58 | 21.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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