Maple Leafs acquire Jordan Schmaltz from Blues for Andreas Borgman
The Toronto Maple Leafs continued to work around the margins on Thursday, acquiring defenseman Jordan Schmaltz from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for counterpart Andreas Borgman.
.@SportChek Player Alert: @MapleLeafs acquire defenceman Jordan Schmaltz from St. Louis in exchange for Andreas Borgman.
Details >> https://t.co/jmRelYjxbO#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/oxdkAjbnTO— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 25, 2019
A former first-round pick of the Blues, Schmaltz has been limited to 42 games at the NHL level in four professional seasons. The right-shot defender will add to the competition for minutes on a blue line that will be incomplete to start the season as Travis Dermott continues to recover from his shoulder injury, but it’s likely that Schmaltz is destined to spend the bulk of the season with the Marlies.
Schmaltz has been a relatively effective point producer at the American Hockey League level, but is coming off his most unproductive season with just a goal and nine points in 36 games with the San Antonio Rampage.
One year younger than Schmaltz, Borgman was initially brought over from Sweden by the Maple Leafs two summers ago. He spent all of last season with the Marlies after dressing 48 times with the big club in 2017-18.
With a surplus of left-shot defenders from an organizational standpoint, the trade for Schmaltz could be as simple as the Leafs aiming for a little bit more balance with their depth defensive ranks.
The two will earn matching $700,000 salaries.
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