Brad Treliving definitely has a vision of what he wants the Leafs' D corps to look like after the trade deadline, and that's big and mean. After adding Ilya Lyubushkin to the mix last week, he made a move today to acquire Joel Edmundson from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a 3rd round pick and a 5th round pick.
Edmundson, you'll recall, was part of the Montreal Canadiens' storybook run to the Stanley Cup Finals in the COVID-19 bubble and one of the best cross-checkers I've ever seen since Chris Pronger. The Leafs, though, all of a sudden, have a lot of bodies on the blueline.
In order to fit Edmundson and leave room for the possibility of more additions, the Leafs made two roster moves today. William Lagesson, who has suited up in 30 games for the Leafs this season, is no longer listed on the Leafs' roster, meaning he will likely be waived today at 2pm ET. Lagesson has done a good job of stepping in and playing dependable minutes in what has been a chaotic season for the Leafs' blueline, but he just doesn't move the needle enough to be on the playoff roster.
In addition to The Lagesson move, Connor Timmins has been moved from IR to LTIR. This will buy the Leafs at least a little bit of time and flexibility, although it's being reported he has fully recovered from his bout with mono and is ready to play if/when he's called upon.
The Leafs don't appear to be done making additions before the deadline just yet, so it wouldn't be a shock to see more roster moves made before the deadline tomorrow. Brandon Pridham will be hard at work fitting all these pieces under the cap. There's no one better for the job, as he's worked some absolute magic with the Leafs' roster during his tenure as AGM in Toronto.
