Rumor: Toronto Maple Leafs Looking to Bring Back Former Defenseman

While the Canucks have seemingly endless firepower up front, their defense is a bit thin after their top pair of Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek. As a result, the team has been looking for help on the blue line. The team has already made one move when they added Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames.

Now the team has been linked to another blueliner as Predators reporter Clay Brewer has suggested that the team may be involved in trade discussions with the Predators regarding defenseman Tyson Barrie.

The Leafs on the other hand would do well to add just about any NHL caliber defenseman. Given the injuries the team has dealt with on the back end, Barrie could provide some much needed depth and scoring from the team's blueline. He would effectively be replacing John Klingberg, who is out for the season, which would not be a bad move for the team at all. While Barrie is not known for his great defensive impact, he is certainly more responsible than Klingberg while adding a similar level of offensive threat. Even more important, he is healthy.

This makes some sense as the Canucks were reportedly one of the teams in on free agent defenseman Ethan Bear before he signed a two-year deal with the Capitals.

While the Canucks certainly could use more depth on the back end, Barrie seems like an unusual choice given that he is more of an offensive defenseman. The team already has that role set with Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek.

That being said, Barrie would still likely be a better option than many other defenders. At the same time, adding him would indicate that the team is going all-in on an offense-first strategy, something that has worked out for them so far this season.