Ex-NHLer Proposes Smart Trade to Help Improve the Maple Leafs Ahead of 2025-26

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been one of the league's busier teams this summer, stemming back to the week leading up to free agency when the Leafs finally put pen to paper with former captain John Tavares on a multi-year extension.

The Leafs also took care of some important business with sophomore stud Matthew Knies, locking him up for the next six seasons at a very reasonable cap hit as well.

These moves were augmented by trades for Nicolas Roy, Matias Maccelli, Henry Thrun and Dakota Joshua, but even with all of the moves they made following the departure of star forward Mitch Marner, there's still plenty of room left for improvement.

Former NHLer Jason Strudwick believes that there's one target that makes a ton of sense for the Maple Leafs, and it's someone who he believes will help their blueline in a big way. That player is offensive defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere.

Strudwick identified Gostisbehere as someone who could really help bolster the back end for the Leafs during a recent segment of TSN 1050's OverDrive.

While Strudwick did state that the player didn't necessarily have to be Gostisbehere in specific, just someone who plays like that, it would be a shrewd addition to be sure, especially given Gostisbehere's ability to provide something that the Leafs don't produce a lot of, which is scoring from the blueline.

Gostisbehere has produced double digits in goals 5 times in his NHL career, and has flirted with similar totals an additional 3 or 4 times in his career.

At 5'11, and 183 pounds, Gostisbehere may not move any mountains, but the Leafs have plenty of big, tough defensemen on the roster, but very few skilled puck movers who can score goals from the back end. Adding someone like Gostisbehere might address a huge missing piece in the current roster construction, and at 32, he still has plenty of gas left in the tank, given the style he plays.