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The fate of the Toronto Maple Leafs this season is tied to whether they can play better defensively in the remaining 33 games, reversing the downward trend they encountered prior to their bye week and this weekend’s All-Star festivities in St. Louis.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie indicated on Friday that he believes that Leafs GM Kyle Dubas is actively seeking to add a blueliner before the February 24th trade deadline, but that the club is looking for a defenseman under contract for at least another year and preferably for multiple years.

Of course the #Leafs got robbed, Gretzky was in the building. :) https://t.co/hOgvOxHVDt

— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) January 25, 2020

Toronto ideally would like to address their defense to help them down the stretch, as they trail third place Florida and the last Eastern Conference wildcard spot by four points, but with Tyson Barrie, Jake Muzzin, and Cody Ceci all unrestricted free agents this summer, Dubas has to be looking to fill holes for next season.

The Leafs started that process by extending Justin Holl for three years, but that leaves potentially two spots on the right side open. Both McKenzie and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman report that teams are looking for young forwards like Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson, and Alex Kerfoot in potential deals.

Kapanen has been connected to recent rumors involving Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev, but the Leafs are likely to be looking for a short-term answer to upgrade as Frederik Andersen’s backup and reserving the move of a young forward signed for multiple years for a deal for defensive help.

#leafsforever G Andersen just surprised his All-Star teammates Auston Matthews & Mitch Marner with a special mask depicting images of them together. Calls it tribute to “Three Best Friends.” “You must have known about it,” Matthews told Marner. “I had no idea,” Marner replied. pic.twitter.com/OQE8AzTw3N

— Mike Zeisberger (@Zeisberger) January 24, 2020

Reports last week that Toronto opened talks with Muzzin’s representatives on a contract extension reflect that Dubas is attempting to be proactive, but there are no guarantees that the Leafs will be able to get him or the other pending free agents signed before July 1.

The 30-year-old blueliner saw action for the first time since December 27th on Friday in a 5-2 Toronto Marlies loss to the Cleveland Monsters and both he and winger Trevor Moore were recalled from a conditioning stint on Saturday. Both should be ready on Monday, when the Leafs return to action in Nashville against the Predators.

Seven straight saves for Freddie and he's the current leader!#NHLAllStar #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/8Dt2VAVvf7

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 25, 2020

*******

New Convo.

Please enjoy responsibly.

🙏🏻💙#LeafsForever #TheLeafsConvo @MikeInBuffalo @IamNormanJames https://t.co/R5TbEjEjcL

— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) January 24, 2020

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