A Player the Toronto Maple Leafs Should Target
With Morgan Rielly out with a leg injury, the Toronto Maple Leafs already thin blue-line is in rough shape.
Whether building for the future or trying to stay in the race, the Leafs need help on the back-end. As Tim Chiasson wrote about earlier, the Toronto Maple Leafs will have a scout at tonight’s Sharks/Kings game.
While it is doubtful the Leafs would be looking to acquire a superstar player like Jake Muzzin or Brent Burns, there is one option I really like on the Sharks. His name is Dylan Demelo, and I think he’d be a great addition to the Leafs.
Now, the Leafs certainly aren’t there to scout him, because he is currently out eight weeks with a broken wrist. Still, he’s a player I think could help the Maple Leafs.
Scouting Report
Demello is 6’1 195, shoots right, and is 23 years old. His scouting report from Hockey’s Future calls him a “big strong puck-moving defenseman who likes to jump into the play and shoot his big booming shot on the fly.”
While it’s nice to know he has that talent, Demelo, at least in the NHL, is a low-event, no-nonsense, defense-first defenseman. The difference between Demelo and, say, a Roman Polak, is that Demelo isn’t a traditional slow-footed, hard-checking defensive-defenseman. Rather he’s a shot-limiting, intelligent, mobile player who can move the puck.
Why the Leafs Should be Interested
The way the NHL is going, speed and puck moving abilities become more important every year. The slow defensive-defenseman of the past is about as relevant today as the enforcer. That being said, you can’t have six primarily offensive guys either.
If you look to the Penguins, they don’t have a Polak. All of their defenseman move the puck and all of them are mobile. Though Demelo has a limited NHL experience (59 games) he has shown an ability to limit shots from opponents, and to put up positive possession numbers.
Demelo is a young player who makes barely any money towards the cap (650K). Since the Sharks haven’t been using him regularly and are looking to win a Cup this year, he may be available. Since he will likely never put up big offensive numbers, he’s unlikely to ever cost very much. And yet, as a 5/6th dman, he has great potential.
The Leafs could very much use a mobile presence on the third pairing and PK because both Polak and Hunwick are terrible. Demelo is Cheap, (likely) available, has potential, is young, mobile, big and right-handed. The Leafs could do a lot worse.
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