What Will the Toronto Maple Leafs Defense Look Like Next Season?
The Toronto Maple Leafs defense has been a topic of discussion this season with multiple poor performances being displayed
The Toronto Maple Leafs currently sit 19th in the league and are on the outside looking in, with their playoff hopes dangling in front of them.
The Toronto Maple Leafs sit 23rd in Goals Allowed at 3.19, 29th in shots on goal allowed at 32.9 a game and are 26th in the league on the PK at 77% although it has looked better of late. (naturalstattrick.com).
Out of the 6 defencemen that the Toronto Maple Leafs ice-out each game, only one is signed beyond this season: Morgan Rielly.
Ceci, Muzzin, Barrie, Dermott, and Holl will all be free agents next season with Dermott being the lone RFA. Down with the Marlies the Leafs also have Sandin, Liljegren, and an interesting player in Jesper Lindgren who is an RHD.
As GM Kyle Dubas has his guy in Sheldon Keefe, he will be tinkering with his team to the best of his ability to make it in what he believes is a cup contender.
But, the proof is in the pudding and the defense is not good enough on most occasions and will probably look different next season.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blue Line in 2020-21
Rielly is a lock for next season. Sandin will most likely be on the roster and Liljegren will most likely be very close to making the team.
Although Muzzin should be signed, he might be pricing himself out of Toronto. He is the only real physical presence on the backend that should be kept around.
The Barrie experiment has been a disaster, and the fact that he only provides offense and isn’t really doing that most likely means he will not be part of the team next season. And Cody Ceci is basically counting his days as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Lastly, on the current team is a present surprise in Holl. He makes $675,000 right now but he will probably be near the $1.5mil mark next season and might be too rich for the Leafs.
Apart from the Leafs free agents, there are Three defenseman that the Leafs will be looking at very closely.
The top priority this offseason will be Alex Pietrangelo. The 6’3 King City native is just what the Toronto Maple Leafs need.
A top pairing RHD, with leadership qualities, can put up points and can defend. He is 29 years old and will be in the region of $7-$8 mil a season. It would probably mean having to trade one of Kapanen or Johnsson to make it work. But, it would certainly improve the team.
Another option is the Toronto native Chris Tanev. A true defensive defenseman who could also be a partner for Rielly. Although he doesn’t put up points like Pietrangelo, he is a true shutdown defenseman that can let Rielly join the rush. The only knock on the 6’2 RHD is that he has injury problems. But, is a cheaper option at $4.5-6 mil a season.
The last option would be Sami Vatanen. The smooth-skating Finn is an RHD but on the smaller side at 5’10. He is another very good option who is playing on a bad New Jersey Devils team.
He isn’t going to light up the point totals but is a solid defenseman who gets the job done. Will also get anywhere from $4.5mil-6 mil a season.
Next. Most Likely to Get Traded. dark
It will be interesting to see what the Toronto Maple Leafs do to fill in their blue-line for next season. Though, to be fair, when this season started and Travid Dermott was on the I.R, the Leafs had only one returning defenseman (Rielly) from last year’s opening night.