“Panic setting in for the Maple Leafs” as management looks at new way to bring help on the back end

The 2022-23 NHL regular season hasn’t even started, and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ infirmary is already getting crowded.
On Wednesday night, the Leafs lost a pair of defensemen during the exhibition matchup against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena. Jordie Benn suffered a groin injury, while Carl Dahlstrom was felled by a shoulder injury and both will miss some time.

While there was good news on Thursday when GM Dubas signed defenseman Rasmus Sandin to a two-year, $2.8-million bridge deal eight days after training camp’s opening, there remains a need for more depth on the blue line.

This prompted TSN’s Darren Dreger to report that Dubas might be looking at new ways to land some help to bolster the back end in Toronto. This is what he said on Thursday night’s Insider Trading on TSN:

“There was a bit of panic setting in for the Toronto Maple Leafs, even during the game versus the Montreal Canadiens when two defensemen went down. I’m told that Leafs management was actually making calls around the National Hockey League inquiring about some defensemen who are still in camp on PTOs. So, no question, still trying to bolster the depth in that positon.”

Jake Muzzin is making progress, but there is no doubt that if other blue liner gets hurt, the struggle will be real in Toronto.

We get the panic. If Muzzin does recover from back pain ahead of the opener, the Maple Leafs’ blue line should look something like this on Oct. 12 against the Habs in Montreal:

Morgan Rielly – T.J. Brodie
Jake Muzzin – Justin Holl
Rasmus Sandin – Mark Giordano

But what if one of them cannot play… or gets hurt? The Leafs need depth.