A potential replacement for Jani Hakanpaa may fall right into the Maple Leafs' lap
The Vegas Golden Knights have an abundance of defensemen and there is one in particular that the Leafs should keep an eye on in Kaedan Korczak.
With seven proven NHL defensemen on their roster already, the Golden Knights will have to make a very difficult decision at the end of training camp. Do they carry 12 forwards and 8 defensemen or risk losing one on waivers?
Korczak was signed to a two-year extension on July 1st by the Golden Knights and carries a reasonable $825K cap hit for the next two seasons. He will also still be a restricted free agent when this deal expires. The second-round pick of the 2019 draft has only played in 37 NHL games to this point, but is the same age as Nicholas Robertson, is a right shot and brings the size the Leafs now covet, standing at 6'4 and 201 pounds.
His underlying numbers, averaging slightly less than 17 minutes per game through 37 games, are fairly strong and there is lots of room for development. With the Leafs' blueline aging significantly this offseason due to the acquisitions of Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, adding a young, cost-controlled right-shot blueliner to the organization would be a wise investment.
It appears as though The Athletic's Kevin Papetti may be implying that the Leafs should try to pull off a swap with Vegas involving Robertson and Korczak, though that may be a misinterpretation of his remark on Twitter/X. At any rate, whether or not the deal involves Robertson, Korczak would be a tremendous addition in Toronto and could be a nice plan B if Jani Hakanpaa does not end up with a contract with the Leafs.
Source: Hockey Reference
Kaedan Korczak Stats
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 9 | 237 ANSWERS A potential replacement for Jani Hakanpaa may fall right into the Maple Leafs' lap Do you think Kaedan Korczak would be a good replacement for Jani Hakanpaa in Toronto if he doesn't sign a deal? | ||
| Yes | 109 | 46 % |
| No | 33 | 13.9 % |
| Don't know enough about him to be honest | 95 | 40.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
