Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Summer Defence Edition

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TORONTO, ON – MARCH 28: Travis Dermott #23 of the Toronto Maple Leafs shoots against the Florida Panthers during the second period at the Air Canada Centre on March 28, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Do the Toronto Maple Leafs need to add another defenceman?

That’s the question of the summer. Not even the arrival of John Tavares can dissuade fans from bemoaning the state of Toronto’s blueline. With a locked in left side of Jake Gardiner, Morgan Rielly and Travis Dermott, it’s the right side where problems arise.

Frankly, my view of the Leafs D corps isn’t nearly as dour as most. The right side lacks proven options, that’s without a doubt. Although, the blueline’s current construction lends nicely to Kyle Dubas’ ideal vision.

Justin Holl, an incredibly mobile defenceman, is primed for a spot. Connor Carrick could see his role increased as the season moves along. Not to mention the group of Andreas Borgman, Calle Rosen and a new-and-improved Martin Marincin waiting in the wings.

Suddenly, depth isn’t an issue. At least on the surface. Still, the topic of adding a D has been bandied about. Why not ask the EIL staff?

Let’s see what they had to say.

TORONTO, ON – APRIL 19: Travis Dermott #23 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Boston Bruins in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round in the 2018 Stanley Cup play-offs at the Air Canada Centre on April 19, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 3-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

Christopher Vassos

No. The Toronto Maple Leafs do not need to add another defenceman. The Leafs are exactly what the NHL needs right now to create a better game for the league. A fast, offensive team.

When Toronto goes on to have a total goals per game above 10, Gary Bettman will be more excited than ever. I would also love a higher scoring game, but as Bill Belichick once said “Defense wins Championships” and the NHL continues to believe that they should pay big money for D.

Why not just go all out on offence and try to win every game 7-5? Could they use someone on the back end? Sure, no team is perfect.

Look at it this way, Toronto Finished 20th in Goals Against per game (lower is better) at 2.80 and 3rd in Goals For per game (higher is better) at 3.29. In theory, we won every game by half a goal. You know what is going to help lower and raise those numbers respectively? John Tavares. An elite centre who also plays Power Play and Penalty Kill. This means more rest for the forwards, less pressure to have Hainsey and Zaitsev out for 2/2 min of minor penalties.

Now, I don’t think that Tavares is the solution for defence, but it will definitely help. As well as Travis Dermott, who was called up halfway through the season. This means he is a half season more experienced, along with his Calder Cup trophy. While Dermott might not be Erik Karlsson yet, he’s still an outstanding option we don’t have to acquire.

RALEIGH, NC – MARCH 20: Brett Pesce #22 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates with the puck during an NHL game game against the Edmonton Oilers on March 20, 2018 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Josh Tessler

An upgrade at defence would make the Toronto Maple Leafs a much better team.

Before I go on, I just want to say that this isn’t a fire drill. The Leafs shouldn’t be desperate. Kyle Dubas and the front office shouldn’t settle. They most likely have 5-10 guys they really want. If they don’t get one of those defensemen, they shouldn’t freak out and trade for a someone who wouldn’t be a strong fit.

If you compare the Leafs to the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning, you’d see that the depth both have on defence is ten times better than Toronto. If the Maple Leafs want to ensure that they make it past both teams in the standings and the first round, they need to make an upgrade.

My defensive wish-list includes Brett Pesce of the Carolina Hurricanes, Darnell Nurse of the Edmonton Oilers and Matt Grzelcyk of the Boston Bruins. All three defensemen owned a CF% over 50% last season and weren’t afraid to be physical.

This is exactly what the Leafs need. A defenseman who is physical but also defensively responsible. Unfortunately, that is something that the Maple Leafs haven’t had in a while.

COLUMBUS, OH – MARCH 24: Colton Parayko #55 of the St. Louis Blues skates against the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 24, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Colton Parayko /

Carson Trask

It is no secret the Toronto Maple Leafs need more right shot D-men.

With Roman Polak gone (thank god), Nikita Zaitzev is the only right-shot defenceman guaranteed to be in the opening night lineup. I think Connor Carrick should get more of an opportunity, but Mike Babcock doesn’t seem to fully trust him at this point. And, Timothy Liljegren may need another year with the Marlies.

Which brings us to my dream player for the Leafs to add; Colton Parayko.

At just 25 years old, Parayko fits right into the Leafs young core. A 6 foot 6 right shot defenseman who can chip in offensively doesn’t grow on trees. A cap hit of just $5.5 million for the next 4 seasons makes him even more of an attractive trade chip. Captain Alex Pietrangelo has two years left on his deal and will be looking for a big pay day, which may force the Blues to make Parayko available. Parayko would cost a lot for the Leafs to acquire, but it would be worth it.

I am not a part of the group that thinks the Leafs D is terrible. But at the same time, their D still scares me. Too many times have third period leads slipped away to be fully confident in this group.

The Leafs need some help on the back end, preferably a right hand shot. Parayko would cost the Leafs some of their young players (anyone not named Marner, Nylander, Mathews) but that’s fine. The Leafs will have their young core locked in and everyone else around them are interchangeable cheap pieces.

The Leafs are a Stanley Cup contender, right now with where their roster is. Adding Tavares will help the team defence, but it still worries me.

I think they should look to add to that group.

SAN JOSE, CA – APRIL 18: Josh Manson #42 of the Anaheim Ducks passes the puck against the San Jose Sharks in Game Four of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 18, 2018 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Rocky W. Widner/NHL/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Josh Manson /

James Tanner

Obviously, the Leafs should get another defenseman.

With Ron Hainsey and Nikita Zaitsev still on the team, it’s very clear that the Leafs need to upgrade if they want to win the Stanley Cup next season. In my opinion, the Leafs should not be looking to acquire a superstar defenseman. The cost of doing so is too high and William Nylander is not a trade chip. He is an absolutely untouchable franchise-level star. There is not a single player his age and skill level that has been traded where it worked out well for the team trading him.

What the Leafs should do is look to trade draft picks and prospects in exchange for a solid defensively sound asset who can move the puck and play in the top four. Examples of this kind of player are Chris Tanev, Jason Demers, Josh Manson and Jared Spurgeon.

The cost of such a player will be expensive and the Leafs should pay it as long as they do not include Nylander. Should this prove to be impossible, the Leafs should pair Gardiner and Rielly together, play Carrick with Dermot and have a bottom pairing of Marincin and Liljegren.

It’s not optimal, but it’s a lot better than going with the status quo from last year.

Next: Trade Value Power Rankings

Thanks for reading!

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