5 Canadian NHL Teams Looking To Add Defenceman

Among all of the NHL teams this season so far, it appears as though the Canadian teams are in the most need of a defenceman. This could partly be due to the Canadian markets always having tons of pressure to succeed and a lot of criticism on the defenders if things don't go well.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a number of NHL defenceman who are fighting for spots in the lineup. But right now, they have three of them on the injured reserve or long-term injured reserve. Muzzin is the most recent victim to injury, but this isn't anything new with him since he continuously misses time since he first was traded to the Maple Leafs. The other two, Timothy Liljegren and Jordie Benn, are on LTIR. Toronto's problem is that they can't make any moves without first dealing with their cap space issues.

The Montreal Canadiens have three rookie defencemen playing in their lineup, all on the left side. Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, and Arber Xhekaj have all been much better than anticipated and impressive. They are all making it very difficult to send them back down to the AHL at any point. But the right side of their defence definitely needs an upgrade with Johnathan Kovacevic and Chris Wideman in the lineup. The Canadiens could use some more experience to at least help out the rookies on the blue line.

The Ottawa Senators also need an upgrade on their right side, preferably in their top-four as Travis Hamonic is playing on the second pairing. They are off to a decent start, better than their recent seasons before this, which will help them stay in the hunt for a playoff spot. They have been looking to upgrade their defence since the offseason and must do so to keep up with the teams they are fighting against for positioning.

The Edmonton Oilers have started to run seven defencemen once again to provide help to their defensive group. They have given up a number of high-danger chances and would be looking to upgrade the left side. Philip Broberg was originally expected to play in the third line role, but instead it has been split between Ryan Murray and Markus Niemelainen. As Stanley Cup contenders, they will be looking for a strong defensive presence to help keep chances against to a minimum.

The Vancouver Canucks are in shambles right now and have lost six in a row to begin the season. They have already made a trade for a defenceman when they acquired Riley Stillman from the Chicago Blackhawks. But they have allowed 27 goals against and they have four of their defencemen injured. They have to make a move or do something before their season slips away.