6'3, 200 pound puck-moving defenseman on waivers could be the solution to the Leafs defensive woes

Defenseman Egor Zamula has found himself back on the waiver wire just a few days after having been traded out of Philadelphia. The disgruntled defenseman was moved to Pittsburgh for Philip Tomasino, but refused to report to the AHL, prompting the Penguins to place him on unconditional release waivers.

That could be significant news for the Toronto Maple Leafs who will likely be without Chris Tanev for the rest of the regular season. Jake McCabe is also set to miss some time after exiting Saturday's game with an injury, and Carlo remains sidelined, but is inching towards a return shortly.

Additionally, the Leafs have had past interest in the Russian defenseman. DFO's Anthony Di Marco mentioned last year that the Leafs were one of a few teams that had reached out to the Philadelphia Flyers in regards to his availability near the trade deadline.

The Flyers decided to keep the puck-moving defenseman through the trade deadline and into the 2025-26 season as a depth piece. However, he quickly lost his spot to veteran Noah Juulsen and sophomore Emil Andrae, which left the club with no choice but to put him on waivers for the purpose of reassignment.

He was unhappy with having been sent down to the minors and was looking for a contract termination before Philadelphia traded him to Pittsburgh. Now that he's available again, the Leafs could use his services down the stretch.

He's not the most prolific defenseman but he's a good skater, can move the puck well, has played on the power play, and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, paving the way for very little risk.

The 25-year-old has accumulated 8 goals and 41 points in 168 games across 6 seasons, including 1 assist in 13 games this year in 14:02 ATOI with a plus-4 rating, 4 PIMs, and 15 blocked shots. He's served primarily in a bottom-6 role, but could be of use with how the Leafs' season has gone thus far.

The undrafted defenseman is expected to garner a lot of attention on the open market, and considering his desire to showcase his worth at the NHL-level, it could be the perfect buy-low addition that shores up a position of weakness for the Leafs.

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