Star Defenseman Has the Opportunity to Help the Maple Leafs in a Huge Way This Summer

The Maple Leafs have undergone quite the face-lift this summer, watching a number of players move out, and others enter the fold to help usher in a new era in Toronto after the departure of Mitch Marner.

One pretty substantial difference between last summer and this summer is that the Leafs don't have any glaring holes to fill on the blueline. However, if there's an opportunity to improve, Brad Treliving is always going to consider his options.

Recently, Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson confirmed via an interview with Swedish sports media outlet Expressen that he has been asked to waive his no trade clause for a move out of Calgary. He also revealed during the interview that he has not yet given the Flames a team he'd be willing to go to.

Andersson is a former draft pick of Brad Treliving during his tenure in Calgary, and Treliving is also the one who gave Andersson his 6-year, $27.3M contract. Since Treliving's departure, though, Andersson hasn't quite been the same.

Andersson has the opportunity to do something pretty substantial this summer. He could conceivably look to reunite with Treliving in Toronto via a former request to be moved to the Leafs.

The Flames want to do right by their star defenseman, and despite the fact that he only has a 6-team no-trade list, given Andersson's comments about being asked for a team he'd be willing to accept a deal to, it appears as though Flames GM Craig Conroy wants to send Andersson to a team of his choosing rather than any of the other 25 NHL teams he is eligible to be moved to.

By requesting a deal to Toronto, Andersson would ultimately be helping to keep the price a little more reasonable, given the Flames' clear desire to move him, and to a location of his preference.

That being said, if Andersson ends up being shipped to Toronto, that almost certainly will require the Leafs to part with one of their top prospects in the deal. Ben Danford could make the most sense, as a future NHL defenseman. It also may require moving a large contract, such as Morgan Rielly's or Oliver Ekman-Larsson's.

While there have been no reports firmly connecting the Leafs to Andersson yet this summer, it's only one request away on Andersson's part from becoming a reality.