6-Foot-6 Defenseman Emerges as Ideal Fit for Maple Leafs as Aging Blue Line Raises Concerns

While Toronto has their defensive group locked up for the time being, they certainly aren't getting any younger even though they are still effective. But besides Simon Benoit and Brandon Carlo, everyone on Toronto is over 30, and they are only going to start regressing as time goes on.

So the team needs to be a little ahead of the curb, and they should look to add young, hulking defenseman Nicolas Hague from Vegas.

Hague, 26, checks a lot of boxes for Brad Treliving and Craig Berube as they look to make a change this summer.

Standing 6'6, weighing nearly 250 pounds, he uses all of that size and length to disrupt opponents, and doesn't mind laying in the body (or laying his body on the line).

He doesn't solve their puck-moving issues, and won't blow you away offensively (only 83 points in 364 games) but he would be an immediate improvement over Benoit, and could end up fitting in wherever Berube sees fit; he's got flexibility.

You could put him with Morgan Rielly up top and give Rielly a shutdown defender and move Brandon Carlo to the third pair. Or you put him on the third pairing and have an actual presence much like Jani Hakanpaa was supposed to be.

Also a Cup winner, he knows what it takes to play in high pressure situations, and his presence on the ice will make Toronto even more of a physical presence; a potential key to unlocking their potential.

It's hard to say, but given their current cap crunch it might become a formality. They need money to sign Ilya Samsonov, Pavel Dorofeyev, and extend Jack Eichel.

But they also need the room if they want to try and sign Mitch Marner, who has been linked to the Golden Knights.

He's going to command a fortune, and if Vegas wants to make sure they don't get shafted, they need to create as much room as possible.

So Toronto should be willing to jump on a potential deal, which could look something like this:

To Toronto:

Nicolas Hague (RFA Rights)

To Vegas:

Nick Moldenhauer (RFA Rights)
Calle Jarnkrok
2025 5th Round Pick

Toronto exchanges a mid-level prospect in Moldenhauer, they give Vegas a very cheap 3/4C making league minimum after July 1, and a pick to either use to draft or bring in another asset.

Hague then gets to sign with Toronto for the long-haul and it would be feasible to see him sign a three-year deal for roughly $17.5-18M then test himself in free agency when he's a bit more seasoned.

It's not perfect by any means, and I am sure Vegas would try and squeeze the Leafs for everything they could, but at the cost of adding a player like Hague, it's absolutely worth it.

Gotta change the DNA somehow right?