10 Quick Toronto Maple Leafs Thoughts

It’s August, which seems like a weird time to be thinking of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

But after signing John Tavares on July 1st, anticipation for the new Toronto Maple Leafs season is at an all-time high.

I had some stray thoughts, ones that I wanted to either repeat, or which didn’t deserve their own post.

Here they are!

Leafs Thoughts

William Nylander is not going to be traded. I am so sick of hearing proposals about Nylander. He is going nowhere. Especially not for a defenseman who is three years older. Nylander for Paryko is the worst rumour of the summer and a trade the Leafs lose by a mile.

This would be one of the worst trades in Leafs history. Can you say TAYLOR HALL?

Don’t do it.

The Penguins were able to be competitive for over a decade, they won three Cups, went to four Finals and made the Playoffs in 12 straight seasons.

They built a core, and then they traded almost all of their first rounders and top prospects. Even though they constantly ‘mortgaged the future’ every year for a decade, they were still successful.

You can expect the Leafs to act accordingly.

I said this in an article a while back, but it deserves another mention: Marian Hossa – the best defensive winger of his generation – went to three straight Stanley Cup Finals, and Five in total, winning three Cups.

The Toronto Maple Leafs should take this to heart and trade for Nino Niederreitter, the best defensive winger of his generation.

I believe an elite defensive forward is the biggest missing piece on the Leafs.

Others will say that defense is the biggest missing piece, but I believe that Rielly and Gardiner are both elite first pairing defenseman. I think they should be paired together and that that pairing would be among the best in the NHL.

I also think Connor Carrick – whose defensive numbers are off the charts – is a very good option for top line right-hand defenseman. He’d be a great compliment to either of Rielly or Gardiner. And, if the Leafs pair them together, then I think Dermott and Carrick would be a great second pairing.

Carrick is a defensive wizard who gets underrated because he doesn’t really score and because Babcock hasn’t really played him enough.

A top four of Rielly-Gardiner / Dermott- Carrick will be very good. However, a bottom pairing of Hainsey – Zaitsev would be consistently demolished.

I do not expect either Hainsey or Zaitsev to remain on the team for long.

It cannot be exaggerated how much better the Leafs are since Roman Polak went to Dallas.

So much depends upon a

red

wheelbarrow

goalie.

Even though everyone says ‘the Leafs have enough offense, get a defenseman’ adding superstar players improves your team, no matter what position you play them or where you’re deep or thin. In fact, there is merit to the idea of adding another elite forward.

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Let’s say Panarin is worth 5 wins, and Erik Karlsson is worth the same. If the Leafs added Karlsson, he’d be on their top pairing, playing the hardest minutes possible.

But if they added Panarin, he could play on the third line, in a sheltered role and dominate lesser competition. Arguably, that would help the team more.

As long as the current defense isn’t terrible (it’s not) then I think there is real value to adding another star forward to the team.

For the record, if the Leafs added Panarin, it’s not entirely clear who their best player would be. Panarin, Tavares and Matthews are three of the best players in the NHL. I think of the three, Matthews is the best, but Panarin could legitimately be superior to Tavares – that’s how good he is.

dark. Next. Top Ten Prospects

That concludes this episode of things I’m thinking. Thanks for reading.

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