Insider reveals Leafs' backup plan if they don't land their primary target on defense
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Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving has checked in and had conversations on just about every defenseman that is available on the trade market at this point. As he continues his efforts to bolster the Leafs' blueline, he has made it clear that he would prefer to acquire someone with term or at the very least, a player he knows he can sign to an extension.
Everyone knows the Leafs desperately need to add another righty to their blueline, but on TSN's 'First Up' this morning, TSN's Pierre LeBrun revealed the Leafs have already identified a potential failsafe if they can't land their top option.
"I will tell you if the Leafs are going to spend that first round pick finally, it's way more realistic that it's on someone who's with them for more than a couple of months... So it could be more of a tweaking situation. He's not a right-handed shot, but I wonder if he is more of a last minute thing Friday, if Joel Edmundson is still sitting there... I think the Leafs have him somewhere on their list."
Edmundson is in the final year of a 4-year deal that carries a cap hit of $3.5M. The 30 year-old, as LeBrun mentioned, is not a righty, but would certainly add some size and physicality to the Leafs' blueline at 6'5 and 225 pounds. The Leafs know Edmundson well as he wreaked havoc on Leaf forwards during their first-round series in 2021 and helped the Montreal Canadiens reach the Stanley Cup Final. There's no question that if given the choice between icing a 40-year-old Mark Giordano in the playoffs and icing a fierce competitor like Edmundson on that 3rd pair, Edmundson is the better option.
| POLL | ||
6 MARS | 482 ANSWERS Insider reveals Leafs' backup plan if they don't land their primary target on defense How would you feel if the Leafs acquired Edmundson? | ||
| Not great | 85 | 17.6 % |
| Mixed emotions | 134 | 27.8 % |
| A big, nasty blueliner like that? I'd love it | 263 | 54.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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