OFFICIALLY SEALED: Maple Leafs Have Officially Acquired $52 Million Defensemen in Blockbuster

Maple Leafs receive:

Colton Parayko

The Blues get:

Timothy Liljegren

Fraser Minten

Nick Robertson

David Kampf

The suggested deal would be a blockbuster, as Toronto would acquire Parayko, who has five years remaining on his eight-year $52 million contract with the Blues. Parayko might develop into a top-four defenseman for the Maple Leafs, helping the team’s blue line become one of the finest in the game.

Parayko won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019 under Craig Berube, who is now the Maple Leafs’ head coach. The defenseman played in 82 games, scoring 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points.

Toronto would have to give up a lot to St. Louis, but the Blues are getting younger, which would help with their youth movement. Liljegren, a former first-round choice, is only 25, but he has struggled to stay in the Maple Leafs lineup.

Minten, meanwhile, was a second-round pick in 2022 and made the Maple Leafs’ training camp roster last season. However, he did not stay and could end up at the bottom of the Blues’ lineup this season.

Robertson, on the other hand, is an NHL player who has requested a trade after telling Toronto he does not intend to re-sign. The RFA forward is projected to be a top-six forward with the Blues.

The final player traded by Toronto is Kampf, a fourth-line centre, whose salary helps the deal go through.

Maple Leafs’ GM Hints at More Moves

NHL training camps will open in September, with the season beginning in October, indicating that the offseason is almost gone.

Although the offseason is nearly finished, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving has hinted at further roster improvements.

“We’re not ready yet. “We continue to look for ways to improve our team,” Treliving stated on TSN 1050’s OverDrive. “I said at the end of the year, we’d look into everything. People sometimes fall in love with the phrase “let’s make a big change just to make a big change”. At the end of the day, you may go out and make significant changes. If they aren’t improving your team, it doesn’t make sense to make a change only to stand up and say, ‘Look at it, we made this major change.'”

The Maple Leafs have little over $1.2 million in cap space, so they do have the money to make another deal. What that move will be remains unknown, but the Maple Leafs have been linked to left-wingers.

Parayko Mentioned as Trade Candidate

Despite being under contract for another five seasons, Parayko’s name has been floated as a trade target.

According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Parayko is on his trade watch list for the summer, with the Maple Leafs identified as one of the teams interested in him.

“Parayko’s name continues to circulate in the trade winds, as it did for the previous two seasons. He has a full NTC and five years remaining on his deal. It will require a major deal and his approval to get something done. However, the Blues are considering their alternatives and appear intent on dealing at least one of their defensemen this offseason,” Pagnotta writes.

Parayko has played in 659 NHL games, scoring 61 goals and 198 assists for a total of 259 points.