Former NHL defenseman of over 1,100 games reveals who he thinks the Leafs should bring in
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the market for a defenseman and it's not a very well-kept secret. We know that the team is already in on guys like Chris Tanev and Nikita Zadorov, but one former NHLer revealed on TSN 1050's First Up recently that he believes there's a defenseman out there who may be a bit of a controversial player, but who he also believes could be the missing piece in Toronto.
Keith Yandle, an ex-NHLer of over 1,100 games, joined Aaron Korolnek and Carlo Colaiacovo on Friday to discuss a litany of different topics on First Up, one of which was who the Leafs might benefit the most from adding. To everyone's surprise, Yandle's immediate answer was Tony DeAngelo.
I think he gets a little bit of a bad rap maybe off the ice [on Twitter], but I've got to know him the last couple of years... never played with him, so I haven't been in a locker room with him, but an amazing guy that really all he wants to do is win and be a part of good teams.
Also, I think the pressure up here [in Toronto] wouldn't get to him as much as maybe some other guys. But I think he'd be a good fit there... It just seems like maybe one little piece on the back end and that could take them to the next level."
I know it's not going to be a popular response, as we all know about DeAngelo's checkered past. However, you can't argue with the on-ice results. DeAngelo has topped 50 points in 2 of the last 4 seasons. He's coming off of a season in which he put up 42 points in 70 games on a bad Philadelphia Flyers team last season.
DeAngelo has scored double digit goals 3 times in his NHL career, including 11 last season. He's off to a bit of a slower start in Carolina this season, with just 7 points in 16 games, but his minutes have also been reduced pretty substantially with the Canes having also brought Dmitry Orlov into the fold. DeAngelo is currently averaging a career low 16:11 TOI per game, well below his 19:18 career average.
Granted, such a move wouldn't be possible without first clearing out some salary, or if the plan was to place the injured John Klingberg on LTIR. It's certainly a bit of an outside the box idea, and one that might pay off on the ice. I'd just be concerned about the fit, personality wise, behind the scenes.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 20 | 216 ANSWERS Former NHL defenseman of over 1,100 games reveals who he thinks the Leafs should bring in Should the Leafs go out and get Tony DeAngelo from the Hurricanes? | ||
| Yes | 89 | 41.2 % |
| No | 127 | 58.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
