Toronto Maple Leafs reportedly kicked tires on Justin Faulk

The defensive corps of the Toronto Maple Leafs is a hot topic of discussion among fans and it appears the team kicked tyres on a player who could certainly be an immediate upgrade.

According to Pierre LeBrun, who spoke to TSN 1050’s Leafs Lunch this past Wednesday (Sept. 19), Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas spoke to the Carolina Hurricanes about Justin Faulk during the off-season.

Faulk is a player who would give the Leafs an immediate upgrade on the right side of their blueline, with the left side not needing any drastic changes.

LeBrun believes that discussions didn’t progress very far, but the fact Dubas has actively communicated with the Hurricanes might indicate he is still interested in making an upgrade on the Leafs’ current corps.

"“I was told this summer that to some degree Carolina and Toronto did talk about him, but it didn’t go anywhere. And that might just be that Kyle Dubas was calling around the league to start getting a foundation for what’s out there over the next 12 months, who knows.”  – Pierre Lebrun on TSN 1050’s Leafs Lunch."

In 76 regular season games, Faulk earned 31 points (eight goals and 23 assists) and was named the team’s official captain.

He averaged 22:16 on the ice during those 76 games, starting in the offensive zone a whopping 58.3 percent of the time while sporting a strong 55.7 percent Corsi rating – 1.6 percent relative to his team. Faulk is good for 30+ points a season in the NHL and puts his 6-foot, 215 pounds body to work defensively – blocking 90 shots and throwing 128 hits last season.

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He also fights to regain the puck from opposing teams and had an impressive 63 takeaways for the Hurricanes last season. He is viewed as a solid top-four defensive player in the NHL and holds a reasonable cap hit of $4.83 million for another two seasons.

Faulk’s cap hit and term remaining on his current deal are likely to have driven up the Hurricanes’ asking price, with the Metropolitan Division team looking to upgrade on offence for this coming season, with so many players in the defensive corps.

While the Maple Leafs could certainly do with added a legitimate top-four player on the blueline, Dubas isn’t going to overpay when the team has a couple of truly promising prospects in Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin.

This is likely why the conversation around Faulk did not progress far, but there is no reason why it couldn’t potentially be revisited by either team later in the season – possibly closer to the trade deadline.

Faulk is a player the Hurricanes appear to be keen on moving and someone the Leafs at least have discussed, so it will be interesting to see if anything develops at a later stage.

What do you think Leafs Nation? Should Dubas look to revisit a potential trade for Faulk? Or should the team stick with their current corps and focus on bringing through their promising prospects? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.