Maple Leafs acquire defenceman Conor Timmins from Coyotes

With their defence corps missing several key contributors, the Toronto Maple Leafs made a trade to shore up their blue line on Wednesday, acquiring Conor Timmins from the Arizona Coyotes. Toronto is sending centre Curtis Douglas to Arizona in return.

Coyotes insider Craig Morgan reports the team ideally wanted to pass Timmins through waivers in order to get him more consistent playing time in the AHL, but feared losing him for nothing.

Timmins has appeared in two games so far this season and has been held without a point. He has zero goals and seven assists through 41 career games in the NHL.

The 24-year-old was selected 32nd overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2017 draft and was traded to the Coyotes in the deal that sent goaltender Darcy Kuemper to Colorado.

The Maple Leafs' blue line is in rough shape at the moment, with Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin and T.J. Brodie all injured. Rielly and Muzzin are both on long-term injured reserve while Brodie won't return before the end of Toronto's current road trip. Timmins gives head coach Sheldon Keefe another option to plug into his lineup while he waits for his regulars to return.

Douglas was a fourth-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 2018 and signed a two-year deal with Toronto last March. The 22-year-old has one assist and 30 penalty minutes in 13 games with the AHL's Toronto Marlies in 2022-23.

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