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12 minutes ago
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The Toronto Maple Leafs could use some help in their defensive unit.
Their defensemen left a lot to be desired in 2025-26 as Toronto scuffled and missed the playoffs. To get back in better shape next season, the Leafs have some changes to make.
On the potential outgoing front, Morgan Rielly seems to be heavily on the trade block. But really, Toronto needs to bring in some blue line talent, too.
Daily Faceoff's Matt Larkin wrote a lengthy article with lots of options in it, but one stood out as a name that hasn't been suggested much: Vince Dunn.
Dunn is entering the final season of his contract with the Seattle Kraken, which might make them more likely to trade him, and he'd certainly have the potential to help the Maple Leafs get better.
"Dunn averages 56 points per 82 games over the past four seasons," Larkin writes. "He’s 29 and has a year remaining on his contract at $7.35 million. If the Kraken are looking to make some larger-scale changes with Ron Francis no longer making the decisions, they could move Dunn knowing Brandon Montour can fill the PP1 spot fairly seamlessly."
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Dunn has almost the same yearly salary as Rielly ($7.5 million) and likely wouldn't make sense to bring onto the books unless Toronto also moved Rielly somewhere else, so in both a depth chart and salary cap sense, it'd be pretty much a direct swap.
If Seattle decides it doesn't want to trade Dunn, the Maple Leafs will have plenty of other options, including the likes of Adam Fox and Dougie Hamilton.
It's going to be a busy offseason in Toronto regardless of whether the Kraken are involved. But if Seattle can get future assets for a guy with one year left under contract, that might make sense for both sides.
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