John Chayka wants a steady stay-at-home defenseman, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are shopping for one in the middle of a four-game heater.
The Fourth Period reported Sunday that Toronto is looking for a responsible defensive blue liner who can slot in as a No. 3 or No. 4 guy.
The timing isn't random. Chris Tanev sits on injured reserve with an upper-body injury and isn't expected back until at least Oct. 31.
He's also 36, which turns every injury update into a referendum on how long Toronto can keep leaning on him.
Marshall Rifai is on IR too, nursing a lower-body injury with the same earliest return target.
So who's left? Morgan Rielly, Darren Raddysh, Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Troy Stecher and Dakota Mermis, a group that hands Jim Hiller more puck movers than shutdown pieces.
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Leafs are outscoring their problems on the back end for now
Toronto is 7-4-2 and sits third in the division after Saturday's 7-2 rout of the Oilers in Edmonton.
But the Leafs are giving up 3.2 goals per game. The offense covers it up, the way a loud car stereo hides a rattling muffler.
Goaltending isn't bailing anyone out either. Sergei Bobrovsky carries an .895 save percentage through eight appearances.
Raddysh is the one that stings. He carries an $8.5 million cap hit and is still looking for his first goal of the season.
Rielly hasn't scored yet either, and he sits at a -2 rating on a $7.5 million deal.
Ekman-Larsson is 35 and has a single assist to show for 13 games.
The pleasant surprise has been Stecher. The $1.35 million depth defenseman already owns two game-winning goals.
Chasing a true defensive defenseman is the right call, and it's overdue. A roster built around Auston Matthews and William Nylander doesn't need another blue liner who wants the puck.
It needs someone who breaks up plays, clears the crease and makes life miserable for the other team's top six.
The tricky part is the price. Contenders don't hand over reliable defensive blue liners in October without asking for something that hurts.
Tonight's puck drop in Calgary opens a western road trip that also runs through Seattle and Vancouver.
The Flames have won three straight despite a -16 goal differential, so this isn't a stop where Toronto's defensive holes figure to get exposed.
Tanev's earliest return target lines up with Halloween night in Vancouver. If he isn't ready, does Chayka keep waiting, or does he pull the trigger?
Should John Chayka give up a first-round pick to land a shutdown defenseman before Chris Tanev returns?
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