Report: Maple Leafs Expressed Interest In Trading For Capitals Defenseman Jensen

The Capitals have an influx of right-handed shots as they enter the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline.

The Washington Capitals are still mulling over their trade deadline approach, and whether they sell or not will all but certainly be decided by Friday's tilt with the Philadelphia Flyers. That hasn't stopped teams from exploring options, though, and Nick Jensen's name is the latest to get attention, this time from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts, the Maple Leafs were expressing interest in Jensen as they explored the market for right-handed defensemen.

"They were looking at a lot of right-shot D... I heard Nick Jensen was kind of name that they were looking at," Friedman said.

Toronto filled that need on Thursday, trading for Anaheim Ducks blueliner Ilya Lyubushkin, but Jeff Marek added that the team could continue to explore trades going into the March 8 deadline. Toronto could use another top-4 caliber defenseman following Nick Giordano's injury against the Arizona Coyotes.

"There's still room for moves," Marek pointed out.

Jensen would be another solid defensive addition and has played a significant role since being acquired by the Capitals back in 2019. Despite ups and downs in 2023-24, he is a smooth-skating defenseman with good hockey sense who can contribute on offense but mainly plays a shutdown game.

The 33-year-old carries a cap hit of $4.05 million and has two years left on the extension he signed last season.

Washington has an influx of right-handed defensemen after signing Ethan Bear to a two-year contract midseason, so the Capitals could afford to part ways with Jensen. However, with the team looking to build for the future, it would take a reasonable return considering he has played a top-4 role.

Jensen has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury but seems likely to return on Friday against the Flyers.