One of the obvious needs for the Toronto Maple Leafs is two top-four right-side defensemen. With that in mind, we checked out the top 12 right-handed unrestricted free agents on the Spotrac website. Here we will look at who we believe are the top six in no particular order.
UFA Defenseman One: Tyler Myers
Tyler Myers (34) is 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds. His last contract was for five years at $6 million per season. Throughout his career, Myers has participated in 995 games, averaging 21:53 of ice time per game. He scored 93 goals and added 278 assists, accumulating 371 points and maintaining a plus/minus rating of plus-9. Additionally, he has blocked 1,514 shots and delivered 1,243 hits.
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In the playoffs, Myers has played 61 games with an average ice time of 20:52, scoring seven goals and nine assists for 16 points, with a plus/minus rating of minus-3. During the 2023-24 season, he played 77 games, averaging 18:57 of ice time, with five goals and 24 assists for 29 points and a plus/minus rating of plus-16. He also blocked 136 shots and delivered 110 hits.
Following media reports, we don’t see anyone discussing Myers as a fit for the Maple Leafs. We must say that we do wonder why. Myers spent the majority of this past season in the Vancouver Canucks top-four defence. While his TOI was down almost two minutes from his previous season, he still averaged nearly a minute more than Nikita Zadorov, and it seems everyone is talking about Zadorov.
Mind you, Myers is 34, and Zadorov is 29. Zadorov will still be playing long after Myers has retired. At the same time, Myers will likely come at a much lower price because of his age than Zadorov. He is also a righthander (Zadorov is a lefty) and is two inches taller than the 6-foot-6 Zadorov. Myers had ten more points than Zadorov had this past season and was plus-16 to Zadorov’s plus-12. If Toronto general manager (GM) Brad Treliving likes them big, no one is bigger than Myers. On top of that, the way Myers plays would fit right into Craig Berube’s coaching style.
UFA Defenseman Two: Chris Tanev
Chris Tanev is 34, 6-foot-2, and 195 pounds. His last contract was four years, $4.5 million per season. He’s had an impressive career, playing in 792 games with an average ice time of 19:59. Throughout his career, he has scored 33 goals and 157 assists, amassing 190 points with an impressive plus/minus rating of plus-122. Defensively, he has blocked 1,652 shots and delivered 382 hits.
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In the playoffs, Tanev has played in 60 games, averaging 20:23 of ice time per game. During these high-stakes matches, he has scored one goal and 12 assists, totalling 13 points and maintaining a plus/minus rating of plus-15, with 174 blocked shots and 56 hits. In the 2023-24 season, Tanev played 75 games, averaging 19:41 of ice time per game. He contributed two goals and 17 assists for 19 points, with a remarkable plus/minus rating of plus-22, alongside 207 blocked shots and 45 hits.
Tanev has always put up solid defensive numbers. While he does not produce much offensively, he always comes up with positive underlying numbers. Using plus/minus as an example, Tanev has only been in the negative once in his 15-year career (minus-8 in 2015-16) and is a plus-122 overall. This past season, he was plus-22. In the playoffs, he has never been a minus player. That has to mean something. One of Tanev’s more obvious strengths is his shot-blocking ability. He has 1,652 blocks in his career. He is not physical when it comes to hitting. He only has 337 hits in his career.
Treliving signed Tanev to his last contract, so it makes sense the two of them could reunite. Tanev has had injuries in the past. He has only played 82 games once in his career. Too much term on a deal wouldn’t be smart, unless the term was used to bring the AAV down, with the realization that Tanev might have problems toward the end of the contract.
UFA Defenseman Three: Brett Pesce
Brett Pesce is 29, 6-foot-3, and 201 pounds. His last contract was for six years at $4.025 million per season. Pesce has had a solid career, playing in 627 games with an average ice time of 21:05. Throughout his career, he has scored 39 goals and 159 assists, amassing 198 points with a plus/minus rating of plus-92. Defensively, he has blocked 958 shots and delivered 337 hits.
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Pesce has participated in 57 playoff games, averaging 23:25 of ice time. During these high-stakes matches, he has scored five goals and 16 assists, totalling 21 points with a plus/minus rating of plus-2, alongside 121 blocked shots and 57 hits. In the 2023-24 season, Pesce played 70 games, averaging 20:17 of ice time per game. He scored three goals and added 10 assists for 13 points, with a plus/minus rating of plus-10, along with 113 blocked shots and 25 hits.
Since Pesce’s second season, he’s averaged over 20 minutes per game. He’s spent his entire career playing for one team, the Carolina Hurricanes, which has been known for their strong defensive play for years. Pesce is one of the reasons the Hurricanes have the defensive reputation they do.
In the past, Pesce’s usage has gone up by over two minutes per game in the playoffs. One of the reasons the Hurricanes lost in the second round of the 2024 Postseason might have been because Pesce was hurt in Game 2 of the first round. He is not flashy, but he eats minutes and does the job. At 29, he is in his prime. As a UFA, the bidding could go high for him.
UFA Defenseman Four: Matt Dumba
Matt Dumba is 30, 6 feet and 180 pounds. His last contract was six years at $6 million per season. Dumba has had an impactful career, playing in 674 games with an average ice time of 20:31. Throughout his career, he has scored 83 goals and 165 assists, amassing 248 points with a plus/minus rating of plus-29. Defensively, he has blocked 807 shots and delivered 1,019 hits.
Dumba has participated in 54 games in the playoffs, averaging 20:36 of ice time per game. During these high-stakes matches, he has scored five goals and 10 assists, totalling 15 points with a plus/minus rating of minus-6, alongside 80 blocked shots and 129 hits. In the 2023-24 season, Dumba played 76 games, averaging 19:44 of ice time. He contributed four goals and eight assists for 12 points, with a plus/minus rating of minus-18, along with 108 blocked shots and 202 hits.
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The one thing that Dumba is known for is his physicality. You need to keep your head up when he is on the ice. Though not very big, he plays big. On the downside, he gets criticized for his erratic play and has been known to get caught out of position. Despite being a plus-29 in his career, Dumba has been minus-23 over the past six years. The fact he was minus-13 in 58 games for a bad Arizona Coyotes team this past season played a role in that negative plus/minus number, though, and needs to be taken into consideration. There is no doubt that Dumba is a top-four defenseman. But he is not as consistently good defensively as some other available UFAs.
UFA Defenseman Five: Brandon Montour
Brandon Montour is 30, standing at 6 feet and weighing 195 pounds. His last contract was for three years at $3.5 million per season. Montour has had a distinguished career, playing in 520 games with an average ice time of 21:04. Throughout his career, he has scored 66 goals and 186 assists, amassing 252 points with a plus/minus rating of plus-40. Defensively, he has blocked 568 shots and delivered 590 hits.
In the playoffs, Montour has participated in 82 games, averaging 21:58 of ice time. During these high-stakes matches, he’s scored 11 goals and 24 assists, totalling 35 points with a plus/minus rating of plus-8, alongside 98 blocked shots and 116 hits. In the 2023-24 season, Montour played 66 games, averaging 23:27 of ice time per game. He contributed eight goals and 25 assists for 33 points, with a plus/minus rating of plus-1, 67 blocked shots, and 104 hits.
Montour might be the best all-around defenseman available. He will most likely get a huge raise in his next deal, be it with the Panthers or any other team. We would be surprised if the Panthers didn’t do everything they could to keep him. They also have a tax advantage when competing against teams like Toronto for their services.
UFA Defenseman Six: Matt Roy
Matt Roy is 29, 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds. His last contract was three years at $3.15 million per season. He’s also had a strong career, playing 369 games with an average ice time of 19:28. Throughout his career, he’s scored 24 goals and 82 assists, amassing 106 points with a plus/minus rating of plus-67. Defensively, he has blocked 667 shots and delivered 626 hits.
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Roy has participated in 18 games in the playoffs, averaging 20:45 of ice time. During these matches, he has scored one goal and added five assists, totalling six points with a plus/minus rating of plus-2, alongside 46 blocked shots and 59 hits. In the 2023-24 season, he played 81 games, averaging 20:54 of ice time per game. He contributed five goals and 20 assists for 25 points, with a plus/minus rating of plus-21, along with 197 blocked shots and 152 hits.
Roy might be the perfect under-the-radar choice for the Maple Leafs. His numbers show he has a well-balanced all-around game, especially given that he has spent his entire career playing for a middle-of-the-road team like the Los Angeles Kings.
What Two Defensemen From the Six Should the Maple Leafs Pursue?
Our two choices for the Maple Leafs, in no particular order, are Tyler Myers and Matt Roy. While he might be 34, Myers is everything Treliving and most Maple Leafs fans like in a player. He is big, strong, and physical. He has also been relatively healthy, especially for a player his size who plays physical. He is a commanding force on the ice. Myers showed no signs of decline in his game this past season. Roy might have an advantage because of his age. Given this age difference, he might be a safer bet if the Maple Leafs were to commit to a $5 million deal with an extended term.
While these two players might not be the best available this offseason, they might be the best fit for their cost. The Maple Leafs have about $10 million they can afford to spend and need two defensemen. Realistically, they might be able to sign these two for that money.
[Note: I want to thank long-time Maple Leafs fan Stan Smith for collaborating with me on this post. Stan’s Facebook profile can be found here.]
