I saw it mentioned this past week and it seemingly got lost in the shuffle but what about targeting a cheap RHD like Roland McKeown who is 22 and pretty well NHL ready on an ELC? He's a RHD with a good but not elite pedigree (former #2 overall OHL draft pick behind Connor McDavid and #50 overall pick in the 2014 NHL draft) that has 19 points in 40 games in the AHL this year while being a +17 this year which is tied for 6th in the league and is+10 better than any other D-man on the Checkers roster. I know plus/Minus is flimsy at best, but McKeown was +34 last year which was 3rd in the league and +11 better than anyone else on the Checkers roster. The fact that there is now 2 years of him outperforming his teammates in plus/minus by large margins would seem to indicate good things I would think. McKeown made his NHL debut last year on November 4 replacing the concussed Brett Pesce in a game against the Coyotes and fit in nearly seamlessly from what I've read. McKeown finished with just three points in 10 games, but looked every bit of a poised NHL performer in his first taste of action at the highest level.
He's known as a strong skater that can do a bit of everything including puck movement, physical play and point production. He doesn't really have any glaring weaknesses in his game. His best assets are also his biggest flaws, since he does not have any one quality that truly stands out. Also, he's not the biggest guy at 6 foot 1, 195 lbs but that's not really too much of an issue. It's sort of like a Travis Dermott profile. I think McKeown's skillset fits what the Leafs are looking for on D, a strong skater with above-average hockey sense that moves the puck well and is a capable defender thanks to very good positional play as well. With the Hurricanes depth on D, particularly on the right side, and need for more scoring, I think there is a potential fit here and it won't cost the Leafs an arm and a leg. Thoughts?