A Possible Solution For The Leafs' On Defense?
As many people predicted, the Toronto Maple Leafs are struggling on the defensive side of things. After playing a tight home opener against the Montreal Canadiens, the team has given up five goals to Ottawa, six goals to Chicago and four goals to Dallas. While the team definitely has the firepower to outscore teams, they'll eventually run into some struggles here and there on offense. The team might have a cheap option available to them. According to Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, all signs point to Jordan Schmaltz wanting out of St. Louis. Schmaltz can't seem to crack the starting lineup and the Blues are too scared to put him on waivers. Rutherford adds that scouts across the league are interested in Schmaltz because of his mobility and puck moving skills. Schmaltz stands 6'2 and is a righty, he could slide in on the Leafs defense with Nikita Zaitsev showing to be inconsistent at times and while Igor Ozhiganov has been a nice surprise, there's no guarantee he can keep it up all season. The 25 year old doesn't bring much of a cap hit at all as he has an extra year left at $700k, which could be great for the Leafs considering the salary cap issues they'll run into next summer.
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