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Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Summer Defence Edition

By Mike Stephens

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)
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) /
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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)
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.

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