Trade proposal surfaces involving a top-four defenseman heading to the Toronto Maple Leafs

This off-season, it became clear that Brad Treliving and the Toronto Maple Leafs were looking to beef up their blue line and goaltending, and they did that with some solid free agent signings in the form of Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Anthony Stolarz.

They may not be done however, as speculation has continued swirling around a potential blue line addition via trade, with Nick Robertson and Timothy Liljegren both listed as potential trade chips for the team to use.

Now, another proposal has emerged, with the team acquiring 28-year old Jake Middleton from the Minnesota Wild, who could become a very intriguing piece on this already deep and talented blue line.

On paper, Jake Middleton isn't the player that Toronto should be targeting via trade, but at this relatively cheap price, he would be a solid pickup after tallying 7 goals and 25 points a season ago.

With the defensive pairings seemingly set, the Maple Leafs should be aiming much higher, and with some draft picks alongside Robertson and Liljegren to trade, they can make a much bigger splash down the line, but if they made this trade, it would certainly help their current group.