The Maple Leafs could reunite Dakota Joshua with the perfect linemate in free agency

Vancouver Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal claimed he was told that Vancouver Canucks Centre Teddy Blueger is hitting free agency.

In a tweet, he writes: "Been told Teddy Blueger and Derek Forbort will be hitting the free agent market on July 1st."

Born in Riga, Latvia, Blueger has played for three different teams throughout his career, primarily as a depth forward/ center who provides decent scoring with strong defensive play.

The soon-to-be 32-year-old has been a very productive bottom-six forward throughout his career. His 82-game average is 10 goals, 20 assists for 30 points. So as far as depth options go, you can do significantly worse for someone in your bottom six.

With his production likely to decline from here, he is probably chasing his last possible payday, and with the salary cap exploding, he may be a semi-affordable option to provide the depth the Toronto Maple Leafs might need.

Blueger is exactly the two-way center Toronto has needed since trading Roy and Laughton

Nic Roy and Scott Laughton were not utilized properly in the system that Craig Berube employed; both were fantastic on the penalty kill and provided fantastic depth scoring options, though Laughton did not do much offensively under Craig Berube.

Blueger serves as someone the Leafs can get in free agency who not only fills a need, as the team has some pretty major ones, but you don't have to give up any assets other than cap space, which seemingly will increase in perpetuity.

The Leafs have semi-limited cap space, but have an interesting farm system that could provide some answers, and have gotten creative with addressing issues.

Adding someone like Blueger under a system in Hiller that could work out might be a substantial addition in terms of adding a depth veteran who adds a really strong two-way game.

Now he does shoot left, something the Toronto Maple Leafs have an abundance of; the only right-shot forward the Leafs possess is William Nylander, so adding someone like Blueger does not address that pressing need either.

His contract might be uncomfortable, but it won't be awful with how much the salary cap is going up. The pay might be shocking, but whether it is 3-5 million AAV, it will soon be what is the going rate for a free agent.

The Leafs have already gotten creative this offseason; adding someone like Blueger would fall in line with how aggressive this front office is and how many different avenues it explores.

He already has chemistry with Dakota Joshua from their time together in Vancouver

In 2023, both Dakota Joshua and Blueger had their best seasons as pros under then-Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet's system.

With a revitalized coaching staff, reuniting those players in a fourth line might actually work out well with how familiar they are with each other already.

While fourth line and depth players aren't the sexiest things in the world to talk about, they do play crucial roles, and maximizing those lines is really important and is often what is the difference between teams at times.

Adding someone like Blueger might be able to get more out of Joshua and vice versa, but both players are veterans, and both provide physicality, a bit of playmaking and scoring, and some above-average quality defence.

Ultimately, is this move going to be one to break the headlines? No, probably not. But can it be a significant minor addition that is under-the-radar and could prove in the short term to be incredibly valuable to a team that doesn't control their first-rounders after 2027? Absolutely, maximizing potential and depth is key.

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