A trade for the Toronto Maple Leafs appears to be happening soon.

The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t signed Nikita Zadorov, but they appear to be eyeing another NHL defenseman.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are battered and bruised on the blue line as they deal with injuries to John Klingberg, Mark Giordano and Timothy Liljegren. It was clear that the Leafs’ weakness was their defense.

This group needs updating. Many believe the Calgary Flames have the pieces the Toronto Maple Leafs need to save them, but Toronto seems to be focused on something else. There are rumors that the team is targeting a certain player. Darren Dreger of TSN Insider Trading reports that the Maple Leafs have targeted Philadelphia defenseman Sean Walker. Toronto seems to think that’s what they need to turn their team around. Sean Walker is a 29-year-old NHL veteran from the Greater Toronto Area. Now in his sixth year in the league, Walker grew up in Keswick, Ontario, north of Toronto. He played AAA hockey for the York Simcoe Express before playing junior hockey at the second level. This allowed him to remain eligible to take the next step in his career: play in the NCAA at Bowling Green State University. The path to the NHL was unusual.

Walker appeared in 70 games for the Los Angeles Kings last season, recording three goals and 10 assists, according to Hockey Directory. He wasn’t considered a starter last year as the Kings moved him to a healthy scratch multiple times.

In the old days it wasn’t like that. Walker was the second leading scorer on the Kings blue line behind Drew Doughty after posting a 24 point campaign in 2020 (his first year in the NHL). Los Angeles had high hopes for their talent and signed Walker to a four-year contract worth an average of $2.65 million per year. Walker was with the Flyers in last year’s Stanley Cup Finals as part of the three-team deal that sent Ivan Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jets. As the Flyers continue to rebuild, Walker has taken on a bigger role than the Kings and helped establish himself as an asset the organization can turn into a pick or prospect in a trade. Walker has played in 23 games so far this season, scoring four goals and adding seven assists. Walker played his second doubles match for Philadelphia. He spends time on special teams and joins the second homicide unit. His coach, John Tortorella, used Walker primarily on defense, as 52.5% of his starts came on defense. With strong possession stats and a 53.6 Corsi rating at even strength (4.7 against the team), the Maple Leafs can count on Walker to add depth to their defensive unit.

This is the final year of Walker’s $2.65 million contract, according to Cap Friendly. That makes him an unrestricted free agent unless he signs an extension. The Leafs need to find a way to free up cap space for Walker, who could come to an agreement with the Flyers. Walker may not be the answer to all of the Leafs’ defensive deficiencies, but he could at least be a step in the right direction.