Leafs may entice Tyler Bertuzzi to stay by signing one of his best friends

There is a rumour floating around that the Leafs have some interest in bringing in Jordan Oesterle as a depth defenseman that can help the team.at both the NHL and AHL levels.

Oesterle, 31, split his time last season in the NHL with the Calgary Flames and in the AHL with the franchise's affiliate Calgary Wranglers. In 22 games with the Flames, Oesterle produced 2 assists while averaging just 13:31 in ice time. With close to 400 games of NHL experience, Oesterle could add some much needed depth to a thin group, who are likely losing T.J. Brodie, Joel Edmundson, Mark Giordano and Ilya Lyubushkin to free agency.

Oesterle signed a one-year $925k deal with the Flames last summer, and will likely be looking for a similar contract this time around. This makes him a great option for cheap depth that Toronto will sorely need with the top players on the team taking up a good portion of the cap.

Oesterle's good friend, Tyler Bertuzzi had an up and down first season in Toronto, after signing a one-year, $5.5M deal in the summer. He started the year slow before finishing the campaign on a torrid pace to help him achieve his fourth season of at least 20 goals and 40 points. He may come at a slight discount after a less than stellar previous year.

Toronto's general manager Brad Treliving could achieve some tidy business if he is able to sign journeyman defender Oesterle and leverage the relationship that the pair has to entice Bertuzzi to re-sign.

Oesterle and Bertuzzi became quite close during their time together in Detroit.