Leafs go to playoff war with Connor Dewar as new centre at deadline

The timing for Connor Dewar and the Maple Leafs couldn’t be better.

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With Toronto general manager Brad Treliving looking for affordable help on the bottom six and Dewar on a scoring streak in addition to his checking prowess, the last deal the Leafs made at the trade deadline could have long-term significance.

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“He’s defensively responsible and you can’t have too many centremen,” said Treliving, who will have to work Dewar into a rotation that has Auston Matthews at the top, Max Domi recently replacing John Tavares at the No. 2 spot and David Kampf at the bottom. Pontus Holmberg has also seen time in the middle. Dewar, from The Pas, Man., will be the Leafs’ smallest and lightest centre at 5-foot-10, 183 pounds.

“Connor is proficient in the penalty kill, a specific area we wanted to see if we could help ourselves in (as they slipped to the bottom third of the league in recent weeks).

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“We talked with (head coach Sheldon Keefe) today and a lot in the past few weeks of areas we’d like to address. That’s where we think Connor fits in, defensively sound, very competitive.”

The 24-year-old, acquired for a fourth-round pick in 2026, was a third-round selection of the Wild in 2018. The WHLer with Everett has an NHL career-best 10 goals so far and three in the past five games.

Seven years ago, an undrafted Dewar attended a Leafs summer development camp on an invite and had a couple of assists in a scrimmage game.

His arrival is another signal the Leafs aren’t in a hurry to bring back winger Nick Robertson from the farm this week, though Treliving spoke of the latter as still being part of the big club’s plans.

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