Toronto Maple Leafs address lack of right-handed defensive depth with Jordan Schmaltz

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a defensive swap with the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, trading  Borgman away for Schmaltz.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired defenceman Jordan Schmaltz from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Andreas Borgman, the team announced Thursday.

Schmaltz, 25, was taken by the Blues with the 25th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft. The Madison, WI., native played parts of three season in the USHL with the Sioux City Muskateers before making the jump to the University of North Dakota following the draft.

He managed to put up 64 points in 125 games during his three years with the Fighting Hawks before signing his entry-level deal with the Blues.

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Schmaltz has spent parts of the last three seasons in the NHL but has primarily played in the AHL. Throughout his AHL career, he’s proven to be a decent producer, eclipsing 20 points three times. His best season came in his first professional season, where he had 36 points in 71 games.

In his 42 career NHL games, he’s put up just five assists.

Borgman was signed by the Leafs as a free agent ahead of the 2017-18 season. He began his career in North America with a 48-game stint in the NHL, but he ended up with the Marlies for the second half of the season.

He had nine points in 25 games to end the season, and in the Marlies’ championship run, he appeared in two games but didn’t register a point.

The 24-year-old spent the entirety of last season with the Marlies but only appeared in 45 games due to injury. He registered four goals and 17 points over that span and had two points in 13 postseason contests.

The trade looks to come down to handedness. Schmaltz is a righty while Borgman is a lefty. As the Marlies’ roster shakes out currently, they likely have their left side figured out, with Rasmus Sandin, Teemu Kivihalme, Michael Kapla, and Kevin Gravel likely to be the main contributors.

The right side does have an equally talented group, with Timothy Liljegren, Mac Hollowell, Joseph Duszak, and Jesper Lindgren. However, there’s a chance that Liljegren could see time with the Maple Leafs to open the season in the absence of Travis Dermott.

There’s a chance that we could see Schmaltz compete for a depth defensive spot in the NHL, but with the likes of Ben Harpur, Martin Marincin, and Justin Holl all in the mix for that same spot, he’ll have to have a strong camp and preseason.

What do you think of the move? Where do you see Schmaltz starting the campaign? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.