Injuries and inconsistencies have been the talking points of the Toronto Maple Leafs through the first quarter of the season. However, even with their shortcomings, the Sheldon Keefe led Maple Leafs are 12-6-4 through 22 games — good enough for fourth in the Atlantic Division.
While it’s been a game-by-game approach from the Maple Leafs so far, injuries on their back end have piled up and they’ve replaced the holes with bandaid fixes for the most part — with the likes of William Lagesson, Simon Benoit and Max Lajoie. For the time being, they have held the bleeding at bay. However, with talks of the Maple Leafs looking to acquire Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames, could there be another option for them on the free agent market?
Ethan Bear An Option in Free Agency
It may not be a top-four option like Tanev, but there is an NHL experienced right-handed defenceman available on the free agent market and one that has drawn interest in the past. Before the Maple Leafs make a rash decision and move assets to fill a void that doesn’t exactly fix their overall issue, they should take a closer look at free agent Ethan Bear.
Bear was a fifth-round pick for the Edmonton Oilers in 2015. He debuted with the team in 2017-18 playing 18 games and posting four points. He played parts of three seasons with the Oilers before having stops with the Carolina Hurricanes and Vancouver Canucks over the past two seasons.
In that span, Bear has racked up 16 goals and 63 points in 251 career regular season games. He does have a small sample size — of eight games — when it comes to playoff experience with the Oilers, but he offers the Maple Leafs a stronger band-aid fix until their get their starting six back with Timothy Liljegren and Mark Giordano out of the lineup right now.
Bear Brings Intangibles to Maple Leafs Lineup
On top of the 0.25 points per game over his career, Bear would bring defensive intangibles to the Maple Leafs lineup — an asset that could benefit the club come playoff time after they were beaten up in their second-round series with the Florida Panthers last season.
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He’s averaged just under 19 minutes per game over his career with 1.24 hits per game and 0.79 blocked shots. In a season where fellow defensemen Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes finished first and second in Calder Trophy voting, Bear put up a quiet 10th place finish in that category with his 2019-20 season.
At even strength over his career, Bear’s Corsi For Percentage (CF%) is just over 50. What could play against him numbers-wise is that the majority of his starts have come in the offensive zone skewing his possession analytics slightly.
The Maple Leafs don’t need an overly offensive puck mover — with Morgan Rielly and Liljegren when he returns. Bear, while likely a bottom-four option, gives them a little more stability on the defensive side of the puck and gives the Maple Leafs an opportunity to make sure their players are fully healthy before they return — especially the aging Giordano who they will need come playoff time.
Getting Bear Onto the Roster
As for making room for the blue-liner, the Maple Leafs have options on who to send down. They have three contract spots open on their roster, but would need to move someone off the 23-man roster to allow for the signing of Bear.
At the moment, the team has just over $1.4 million in LTIR cap space available to make the signing which is why signing the free agent might make more sense than going out and acquiring a player like Tanev.
In making a trade, the Maple Leafs would need there to be some kind of cap retention and likely have to move better assets to get that job done — a top prospect or a high pick just for the retention alone. Add that to whatever they’d need to package to get a player with Tanev’s skill set and the Maple Leafs would be moving some valuable pieces when it comes to their future.
So, is it worth it knowing the Maple Leafs haven’t made it out of the second round, or based on the slight improvement last season is the team ready to move more assets to acquire a top-end defender?
Realistically, the team’s biggest issue isn’t only defensemen, it’s the team play in the defensive zone — that includes the forwards’ ability to help move the play up ice as well. It might not be the worst decision for Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs to explore the Bear option before jumping on the trade train and making a move that could end up costing the Maple Leafs long-term.