Maple Leafs Facing Competition in Trade Race for Top Defenseman

A lot of the talk this summer revolved around whether or not Calgary Flames defenseman is going to re-sign with the team or potentially test free agency; or even seeing him traded out of town.

Linked to teams like the Maple Leafs who could potentially use him to improve their back end drastically, Andersson is going to be a big focus out in Alberta all year until we get an answer.

Though with a recent report, if the Maple Leafs wanted to get a deal done with Andersson, they should probably blow Calgary away quickly then.

According to NHL Insider Chris Johnston, the Flames and Vegas Golden Knights have had some preliminary discussions surrounding Andersson and the talks are actually progressing more than one would think:

That's not good, especially for a vegan team who is already loaded with talent and has a ton of assets who could entice GM Craig Conroy to part with his #1 defenseman.

Andersson is one of the premier defensive defensemen in the league, and had 31 points in 81 games (11 goals, 20 assists) but he really shone in the defensive end.

Plus, you talk about the heart of a lion:

He had a staggering 196 blocks last year, and has been undoubtedly one of the best guys you could have preventing goals. Vegas adding him alongside Shea Theodore and Noah Hanifin will only make them stronger and could be seen as the replacement for Alex Pietrangelo.

So therefore Brad Treliving either has to come to conclusion that Andersson is not a viable target going forward, or decides to mortgage his future and potentially dump off the longest tenured player on the team.

Andersson is no doubt going to command a huge deal and while Toronto does have some money to work with next year, the commitment to their back end is going to be staggering and they need extra cap if they want to sign a superstar next summer.

So that would necessitate Morgan Rielly's departure and while he holds a no movement clause, the fact he would be closer to home and be able to help mentor the new crop of defensemen coming in; it could give him more purpose than in Toronto.

But beyond that they would need to give up their 2028 first round pick, and potentially a Ben Danford as well on top of Rielly. That's a real big overpayment unless you can get a commitment from Andersson ahead of the deal.

Right now, it seems that if the Maple Leafs want to bring in Rasmus Andersson, not only are they going to have to compete with a team like Vegas; but internally with themselves and decide whether moving on from Rielly is really good for the locker room in the long run.