Leafs with reported interest in a Blackhawks defender
While we don't yet know what the trade deadline has in store, we do have a pretty good idea of who this year's big buyers will be and who the big sellers will be. For the Toronto Maple Leafs, this appears to be a big buy year. For the Chicago Blackhawks, there are several players who are likely to be moved at the deadline.
One name that has come up as a potential trade target in Toronto is Blackhawks defenseman Calvin De Haan. The Carp, Ontario native is 30 years old, blocks a ton of shots (currently 4th in the league in that category), and couldn't cost the Leafs any prime assets.
De Haan recently had the opportunity to speak with The Athletic's Mark Lazarus, and one of the items discussed was what this time of the year is like when you're a pending UFA on a team who is expected to be a deadline seller.
"At this point in my career, I think I'm kind of open to anything," De Haan said. "That isn't the politically correct statement, but it's the truth. My wife and I love it in Chicago and if I'm a part of the plan and the future here, we'd obviously like to stay. But trades happen. At this point in my career, it'd be nice to get back in the playoffs, for sure."
De Haan is not a right shot defender, which is what the Leafs really need, but he is a guy who will lay his body on the line to protect a lead late in a game, and that is something that the Leafs need. That much is evident by the string of blown multi-goal leads of late.
The veteran defenseman is the type of stay-at-home presence that the Leafs could use - and depth is never a bad thing for a playoff team. The biggest issue here is De Haan's $4.55M cap hit. If the Buds don't plan to move money out, they'd have to rely on the Hawks retaining some salary on De Haan. They might even need a third team to enter the deal to pick up some additional salary, as we saw last year with the Nick Foligno deal.
There's still plenty of time remaining until the March 21st trade deadline. It will be interesting to see how this ever evolving situation plays out for the blue and white.
