Toronto Maple Leafs Blueline Help Finally Arrives Via a Trade

So, Jakob Chychrun has been rumored to be going to the Maple Leafs, but instead the Toronto club traded for defenseman Conor Timmons.

TImmons is 24 years old and has only participated in 41 NHL games with seven assists to his credit. He was acquired by the Coyotes in July of last year in the trade with the Avalanche sending him and a first round draft pick in 2022, along with a conditional third-round selection in 2024 for goalie Darcy Kuemper.

The Coyotes used that first-round pick to add forward Dylan Guenther to their roster. In 16 games this season Guenther has three goals, six assists with the Yotes.

The Leafs were in a situation where they needed blueline help immediately. They had already lost Jake Muzzin (16:43) and T.J. Brodie (21:23) when Morgan Rielly (23:00) went down. That's a lot of ice time lost by three usual starters on defense.

Yet, the Maple Leafs were able to stop the bleeding by beating the surging New Jersey Devils without the missing blueline members. They ended the Devils 13-game winning streak in the process.

The Coyotes received huge 6'-9", 243 pound Curtis Douglas, who plays center. He will be assigned to the Tucson Roadrunners in the AHL. The Coyotes are in a rebuilding mode and adding a player with that size is never a bad thing. It just seems unusual for a player of his size to be playing center.

Coyotes insider, Craig Morgan explained why the trade went down.

The Coyotes GM, Bill Armstrong almost seems as if he is building a team of football size NHL players. His lineup includes some players with plenty of size. They include: Nick BJugstad, 6'-6", 215 - Josh Brown, 6'-5", 221 - Zack Kassian, 6'-3", 211 - Patrik Nemeth, 6'-3", 228 - Nick Ritchie, 6'-2", 230.

Adding Douglas to that mix will make the Coyotes team one of the teams who can certainly get in the mix and move some bodies out of the way.

We'll need to wait and see how both Timmins does in his first game against the Minnesota Wild on Friday. Douglas will try to make a case that he should be in the NHL by displaying his abilities in the AHL.