Toronto Maple Leafs missed out on premium defenseman by just $500K

Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson have proven to be incredible additions to the Toronto Maple Leafs and their defensive core.

While they are getting up in age, they still provide shutdown defense whenever necessary. They do their job night in and night out, and very few fans complain about them.

Ekman-Larsson is currently making $3.5 million per season, while Tanev is making $4.5 million. These are relatively modest salaries given how important they are to the team.

However, for just $500K extra, the Leafs could have gone in a different direction, and it would have been a major benefit to the future of the franchise.

During the latest version of Elliotte Friedman's written '32 Thoughts,' it was revealed that the Leafs missed out on signing defenseman Nikita Zadorov by just $500K.

The Boston Bruins signed Zadorov for six years at $5 million per season. This is clearly a misstep for general manager Brad Treliving, who almost had a younger and more effective defenseman.

Zadorov is the kind of guy you need on a team. Not to mention, he has haunted the Leafs this year, injuring both Scott Laughton and Auston Matthews.

While Tanev and Ekman-Larsson are still effective at their jobs, you can't help but fantasize about a world in which the Leafs got their way and signed Zadorov.

This is a world in which they probably don't go after Brandon Carlo, and trade a guy like Fraser Minten in the process.

The NHL can be full of what-ifs sometimes, and it's better not to always dwell on these things. Otherwise, you will drive yourself crazy.