Maple Leafs miss clear opportunity to bolster the blueline without giving up a thing

Currently without their top two right-handed defencemen in Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo, the Leafs missed out on an opportunity to add a veteran right-shot in Matt Dumba after he was placed on waivers on Friday.

Although Tanev has been skating, he and Carlo remain sidelined indefinitely. That remains a concern for a very depleted Leafs blueline.

With no one putting in a claim for the 31-year-old, Dumba will report to the AHL where the Penguins will be relieved of $1.15M of his $3.75M salary.

This will be Dumba's first time in the AHL since the 2014-15 when he was still a member of the Minnesota Wild.

Although Dumba is known more for his physicality, he has been able to chip in offensively in the past, having produced seven consecutive 20+ point seasons, including a career high 50 points in 2017-18 when he was still a member of the Minnesota Wild organization.

Adding Dumba for nothing more than his $3.75M salary would have given the Leafs another option on the blueline and displaced the struggling Philippe Myers.

Troy Stecher has done a superb job since being claimed off of waivers, even being elevated into the top-four, and the Leafs may have just missed an opportunity to bring in another possible difference-maker at a position of great need without giving up a thing.