Maple Leafs acquire depth defenceman Henry Thrun, send Ryan Reaves to Sharks

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Chalk it up as another tidy piece of off-season work on the part of Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving.

This one came on Thursday night, as the Leafs acquired defenceman Henry Thrun in a trade with the San Jose Sharks, sending winger Ryan Reaves to San Jose.

Reaves no longer was in the Leafs’ plans. Not only was that evident when he was waived in March and sent to the Toronto Marlies, but when the Leafs signed tough guy Michael Pezzetta in free agency, it was a clearer indication that Reaves’ days with the organization were drawing to a close.

Thrun, 24, carries average annual value of $1 million on his contract, which ends after the 2025-26 season. The Massachusetts native will be a restricted free agent next summer.

Reaves has one year remaining on the three-year deal he signed with the Leafs in July 2023, with an AAV of $1.35 million.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Thrun played in 60 games for the Sharks last season, recording 12 points (two goals and 10 assists). In 119 career National Hockey League games, all with San Jose, Thrun has five goals and 20 assists and 46 penalty minutes.

How the left-shooting Thrun fits in with the Leafs remains to be seen, obviously. He has averaged 18 minutes, 44 seconds a game in the NHL, so at the least, he will provide a good measure of depth. Thrun is looking at six defencemen — Morgan Rielly, Chris Tanev, Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Brandon Carlo and Simon Benoit — ahead of him on the depth chart right now.

With the trade, the Leafs have approximately $5.3 million remaining under the salary cap.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

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