Done Deal: Maple Leafs Acquire Defenseman from Wild

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been busy on Wednesday, including a trade with the Minnesota Wild. The Leafs have acquired defenseman Brennan Menell for a 7th round pick.

#Leafs have acquired the rights to D Brennan Menell from MIN for a conditional 7th rounder in 2022

Menell ranked 2nd among KHL D-men last season with 5 goals and 38 points in 47 regular season games. Also appeared in five NHL games with the Wild.

— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) July 28, 2021

This is certainly a depth move in hopes of landing lightning in a bottle for Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas. Menell is a 24-year-old undrafted defenseman who is 5'11 and shoots right. Last season he recorded zero points in five games for the Wild and also played over in the KHL where he tallied 38 points in 47 games.

The Leafs did this last season with signing Mikko Lehtonen out of the KHL and they ended up moving him to Columbus because it wasn't working out. Toronto is expected to lose Zach Bogosian to free agency and Menell won't be the type of player capable of replacing the physicality. However, he should push Timothy Liljegren for minutes on the team's bottom pair.

Photo crdit:  Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports