Leafs plan to target two highly regarded defencemen in free agency: report

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving knows he needs to upgrade his blue line this summer and plans to do just that.

The Leafs have four defencemen from last season who are set to hit the free-agent market in Joel Edmundson, Ilya Lyubushkin, TJ Brodie, and Mark Giordano. Whether any of the four receive extensions remains to be seen, but it sounds as though Treliving already has two replacements in mind.

“It’s no secret the Leafs will be targeting Florida’s Montour if the pending free agent remains unsigned after this Cup Final,” Nick Kypreos wrote in the Toronto Star on Thursday. “Chris Tanev is another name that never left Treliving’s radar.”

Montour is currently playing big minutes for the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. The 30-year-old had a bit of a down 2023-24 season due to injury but is just one year removed from putting up 73 points in 80 games. He will be one of the most coveted free agents on the back end this summer.

As for Tanev, the Leafs were one of many teams pushing to acquire him at the trade deadline. Ultimately, the Calgary Flames sent him to the Dallas Stars, and he played a big part in them reaching the Western Conference Final. He brings nothing in terms of offense like Montour, but even at the age of 34, he is still one of the best shut-down defencemen in the league.

Kypreos isn’t the only one reporting the Leafs will be going hard after two blue-liners this summer, either. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman recently discussed the topic with The Leafs Nation, though he added even more names into the mix.

“I think they like Zadorov, I think they like Tanev,” Friedman began. “I think they like Montour. [Brett] Pesce yes, [Sean] Walker yes. They like all these guys. I had guys tell me that the Leafs are going to try and get two of these guys.”

“Toronto is going to go out to try to get TWO really good defensemen in the UFA market…”

Who would you like to see in the blue and white?@thegoldenmuzzy | @Jay_D_Rosehill

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— TheLeafsNation (@TLNdc) June 12, 2024

It will be interesting to see how Treliving fares in his second free agency with the Leafs. His first go-around had a few solid signings, such as Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi, but also featured some massive duds in Ryan Reaves and John Klingberg.

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