The Leafs Have a Chance to Buy-Low on a Quality Piece and Exploit Kyle Dubas at the Same Time

It's no secret that the Maple Leafs would like to change the formula in Toronto this summer, and with a newly-established seller on the market in Pittsburgh, the time could be now to pounce.

According to recent reports from TSN's Pierre LeBrun, the Pittsburgh Penguins are considered sellers this summer. There are some very interesting pieces that may become available, and there will be no shortage of interest in many of them.

That is where the Toronto Maple Leafs can jump into the conversation and test the waters with former GM Kyle Dubas. Even though they have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in their employ, the Penguins still seem poised to move certain pieces to open up cap space and the Leafs should be zeroing in on defenseman Ryan Graves.

Graves is signed through the end of the 2028-29 season at a moderate cap hit of $4.5 million and would help shore up the Leafs' bottom-4. The 6'5, 222 pound defenseman, only averaged 14:59 TOI last year, but in his previous 5 seasons, he averaged 19:28 TOI and accumulated 670 blocked shots and 434 hits.

He doesn't have a lot of offensive firepower with 28 points being his career-high, but he's relied upon for his physicality, defensive acumen, and penalty killing prowess, which would all be a boon for the Leafs and a bit of a luxury should he slot in on the third pair.

Graves fell out of favour in Pittsburgh last year, as he lost ice-time to the usual suspects, but also to depth players like Conor Timmins and Ryan Shea. He only saw more than 15 minutes of ice-time twice in the final 11 games of the season and could be on the outside looking in as we head into the off-season.

The Maple Leafs have cap space to burn for the first time in years and there's no question that Graves is a player who plays the type of game that Brad Treliving and Craig Berube would covet.

The time to strike is now for the Leafs, and a DNA change requires the willingness to make bold moves. Acquiring a hulking defenseman like Graves would be a good start.