Maple Leafs Urged to Pursue Low-Cost Defenseman to Replace Simon Benoit
Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
The Toronto Maple Leafs could look to help their defense even more by adding the towering Carson Soucy after reports he might be on the outs in New York.
As the days go by, the Maple Leafs are looking to see how they can better add to their team and change the DNA that Brad Treliving so desperately wants to do going forward.
Besides the slew of free agents who might be able to be swayed to come over, they are also going to be looking heavily at the trade market to see if they can scoop up any pieces that would not only help the team, but won't break the bank.
Carson Soucy a potential dark horse trade candidate
With reports out of New York that GM Chris Drury is looking to make several changes, there have already been moves including Chris Kreider's recent trade to the Anaheim Ducks.
Besides K'Andre Miller, who might garner a fair bit of interest this summer, there is one solid defenseman that is costing New York just a bit too much for their liking, who could certainly help: Carson Soucy.
Thanks to The Athletic's Arthur Staple, we got a bit of a glimpse into what GM Chris Drury needs to do in order to change the culture of his team beyond the moves he's already made and mentions Soucy needs to be a casualty:
This one is a no-brainer. Soucy has a full no-trade until July 1 but getting his $3.25 million off the books so the Rangers can upgrade on the left side of the defense feels like a must if the changes are still coming.
This season's deadline-day move for Soucy seemed like a decent shot at a reclamation project, but not going forward with all the Rangers want to do. - Arthur Staple
This season's deadline-day move for Soucy seemed like a decent shot at a reclamation project, but not going forward with all the Rangers want to do. - Arthur Staple
While Soucy does come with a no-movement clause, much like Mika Zibanejad the writing might already be on the wall for Soucy, and waiving that clause might be a bit easier than we thought.
Which is exactly why the Maple Leafs need to be proactive and try to bring him in.
Why Carson Soucy fits with Toronto's new identity
Besides being a defensive improvement over Simon Benoit, who would be Toronto's 7th defenseman, Soucy offers exactly the makeup of a Brad Treliving/Craig Berube player.
He's 6'5, 208 pounds, only 30 years old and brings a ton of physicality. He'll throw his weight around, he'll lay out for shots, and while he won't blow you away, is capable of bringing at least the same level of offense as Benoit.
In his 365 career regular season games, Soucy has 87 points (20G, 67A) 441 blocks and 576 hits with a plus-60 in only 16:45 TOI.
One downside however is his handedness, as he's a left-handed shot as is Oliver Ekman-Larsson; his presumed partner. While OEL isn't afraid to play on his off-hand, there's a chance Toronto wants to even that out as Craig Berube much prefers.
But he's very cheap, at only $3.25M and is a free agent for next season, so if Toronto wants to bring him in, they won't be spending a lot now or later (unless they wanna re-sign him later).
Toronto could feasibly send a pick and a struggling prospect like Mikko Kokkonen or Topi Niemala to New York as a sweetener for taking on Soucy's deal, and those aforementioned players definitely need a new change of scenery.
So it wouldn't cost a whole lot to bring in someone like Soucy, who adds size, stability, and an improvement over Simon Benoit.
All it's gonna take is Chris Drury's blessing, which nowadays seems like a very manageable task.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 15 | 437 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Urged to Pursue Low-Cost Defenseman to Replace Simon Benoit Should the Maple Leafs pursue Carson Soucy this offseason to replace Simon Benoit? | ||
| Yes | 156 | 35.7 % |
| No | 281 | 64.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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