Maple Leafs Reportedly Inquiring On 6'3, 212-Pound Stanley Cup Champion

Much of the focus this off-season for the Maple Leafs has been on adding to their forward group after the departure of Mitch Marner, but it's not their only issue.

Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz along with all seven defencemen are returning. Having said that, the Leafs are quietly wielding one of the oldest and least offensive bluelines in the league with the offensively inept Brandon Carlo and Simon Benoit being the only two defencemen under 31.

To address both of those issues, according to local Toronto reporter Howard Berger, the Leafs have checked in on two-time Stanley Cup Champion Mikhail Sergachev.

Entering the third year of his eight-year extension, the former Lightning defenceman was shockingly traded last off-season to Utah in a salary cap move.

At 27, Sergachev would not only add some youth and speed to the aging top-four of the Leafs, but he would bring some valued offensive punch and a legitimate shooting threat to the Leafs' power play.

The Russian blueliner also brings a nastiness to his game, and at 6'3 and 212 pounds, he certainly fits the size requirements of Brad Treliving and Craig Berube.

For Sergachev, joining the Leafs could be awkward at first as he was very vocal that the team doesn't deserve much credit following the Lightning's first-round loss to the Leafs a couple seasons ago.

However, adding a younger defenceman that had 15 goals and 53 points last season while adding 61 hits, 140 blocks and averaging more than 25 minutes a night would be a significant upgrade on the Leafs' blueline.

Of course, there would have to be significant and creative salary cap manipulation to make such a deal feasible. It might mean moving Morgan Rielly in a subsequent deal, but if the Leafs could get a true, two-way defenceman for a million dollars more than Rielly, it's certainly worth some thought.