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The Toronto Maple Leafs have focused on defense and goaltending in the offseason and a trade pitch adds another defenseman to the fold.
The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Maple Leafs acquire Jake Middleton from the Minnesota Wild.
Maple Leafs acquire:
Wild acquire:
- Nick Robertson
- Timothy Liljegren
- 2027 fourth-round pick
The proposed deal sees the Maple Leafs acquire the best player in the deal in Middleton, but give up Robertson and a former first-round pick in Liljegren as well as a draft pick.
Middleton is entering the final year of his three-year $7.35 million deal. But, he already has signed a four-year extension through the 2028-29 season worth $17.4 million. Middleton is 28 and could be a second-pairing defenseman for the Maple Leafs as he would bolster their blue line even more.
Middleton recorded 7 goals and 18 assists for 25 points in 80 games. In his NHL career, he’s skated in 239 games recording 14 goals and 43 assists for 57 points.
In the return, the Wild would acquire Robertson who is an RFA and has requested a trade from the Maple Leafs. Robertson hasn’t been given a major role in Toronto that he wants, but in Minnesota could be a middle-six forward. He’s skated in 56 games recording 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points.
Liljegren, meanwhile, could replace Middleton on the back end and add some youth as he’s just 25 to Minnesota’s lineup. Liljegren was drafted in the first round of the 2017 NHL draft and has skated in 196 games recording 14 goals and 51 assists for 65 points.
Maple Leafs GM Open to More Moves
In the 2024 NHL offseason, Toronto added defenseman Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and goalie Anthony Stolarz.
Since then, the Maple Leafs have been quiet. But, ahead of training camps opening, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving has hinted at the team making more moves.
“To me, we’ve still got five weeks or so till camp. And, you know, we’re not set yet. We continue to look at ways to make our team better,” Treliving said on OverDrive on TSN 1050. “I said at the end of the year we’re going to look at everything.
“Sometimes people fall in love with ‘ ‘let’s make a big change just to make a big change’. At the end of the day, you can go out and make big changes,” Treliving added. “If they’re not making your team better, to me it doesn’t make any sense to just make a change just to stand up and say ‘look at it, we made this big change.'”
Toronto could add another defenseman, but the Maple Leafs have been linked to left-wingers. Toronto has just over $1.2 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia.
Middleton Inks Extension With Wild
Minnesota acquired Middleton on March 21, 2022, along with a 2022 fifth-round draft pick from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Kaapo Kahkonen.
Since being acquired by the Wild, Middleton has become a star defenseman in the NHL. On July 2, Minnesota announced they signed Middleton to a four-year $17.4 million contract extension that begins in the 2025-26 season and goes through the 2028-29 season.
“We’re going to have a bunch of cliché answers here, but we really are excited to spend another five years here. We love the team, we love everything about Minnesota,” Middleton said to the media. “Just couldn’t be happier to get this done.”
Minnesota will open its 2024-25 NHL season at home on October 10 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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Trade Pitch Has Maple Leafs Adding $17 Million Defenseman in Multi-Player Deal