TRADE: Maple Leafs Acquire Connor Dewar

 The Toronto Maple Leafs had been looking for a bottom-six forward, preferably a center, as well as needing a boost for their penalty-killing unit. They got all of that in a last-minute move as the trade deadline passed, acquiring center Connor Dewar from the Minnesota Wild.

Per @jeffmarek, Connor Dewar to Toronto

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 8, 2024

Toronto sends forward Dmitry Ovchinnikov and a 2026 4th-round pick to Minnesota in return. 

Dewar, 24, is a solid fourth-line defensive center who is well-versed in taking defensive zone faceoffs, and will undoubtedly get time on the penalty-kill as well, where he was a regular contributor for the Wild. The Leafs are 22nd in the league on the PK, at just 77.46%.

Dewar has added 10 goals and 14 points in 57 games, playing 11 minutes per night. He's also handed out 94 hits, despite his 5'10", 183-pound build. 

The Leafs organization is somewhat familiar with Dewar, as he attended the team's development camp as a free-agent invite back in 2017. He was a third-round pick of the Minnesota wild in the 2018 NHL draft.

He's a pending RFA with arbitration rights, so Toronto will maintain team control on him.

Photo: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports