NHL Rumors: Maple Leafs Looking To Extend Young Defenceman

The Toronto Maple Leafs really hit on an early-season trade to acquire Conor Timmins from the Arizona Coyotes. It was during a time where many defencemen for the Maple Leafs were injured and Kyle Dubas had to do something to address the issue. Timmins was acquired for Curtis Douglas.

Chris Johnston spoke on Insider Trading about the potential of an extension saying, "Just a little something to keep an eye on. They (Maple Leafs) do have some interest it's believed in extending Conor Timmins to a contract."

The Maple Leafs were able to continue winning games with a very banged up back-end, partially thanks to what Timmins provided. In 19 games with the Maple Leafs this season, he has one goal and 12 points while logging just under 16 minutes a game. The team already has a couple of young defencemen on cheap bridge deals, but Timmins could also join that group because of the great play he's provided. He earns just $850,000 this season and is a RFA in the summer.

Before playing for the Maple Leafs, Timmins had recorded eight assists in 41 career NHL games. He has already been traded twice at 24 years old and it appears as though he has found a home in Toronto. The Maple Leafs' blue line is very jammed up when everyone is healthy, so I can't imagine Timmins gets a bridge deal with an AAV over $1.25 million AAV and starts off as anything more than a sixth or seventh defenceman next season. He can provide Toronto with a solid cheap option on defence as they manage re-signing some of the forwards.