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1. Toronto Maple Leafs

After signing John Tavares, the Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have many holes in their lineup. Critics will point to their defense, but it’s not nearly as bad as people would like to think. That said, the right side of the Leafs defense is a bit weak. Adding Justin Faulk would be a huge boost and would fill a significant hole.

But here’s the problem. The Leafs, in case you haven’t heard, have a number of impressive young players. Here’s the issue – when you have a bunch of good young players, teams want them. Any trade for Faulk would start with the Carolina Hurricanes asking for Kasperi Kapanen. They might even shoot for the stars and demand William Nylander.

And it’s not like the Hurricanes will be lacking suitors for Faulk. This will drive up his price tag even more. Kapanen would probably make the most sense. He could play with his fellow Finnish forwards Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen.

As promising as Kapanen is, the Leafs have enough depth to make up for his loss. Andreas Johnsson and Carl Gundstrom are both intriguing options. As is Tyler Ennis. Kapanen is currently slotted in on the Leafs fourth forward line, according to Roster Resource. At best, he’s on the third line.

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It’ll be interesting to see who wins this chess match between the Maple Leafs and Hurricanes. Carolina knows Toronto needs a right-handed defenseman. Meanwhile, the Leafs obviously would want to get Faulk without giving up Kapanen. This could make for an interesting showdown.