Reasoning for These Defensive Pairings
I’m just quickly going to go over the defensive pairings because they are not all that different to the current ones, they are actually the exact same.
With that being said I would love to see Sandin get called up and see if the Toronto Maple Leafs would package Ceci in a trade then the pairings would be different, but as of right now here they are.
Rielly – Barrie
Muzzin – Holl
Dermott – Ceci
Rielly and Barrie have been D pairings for a couple of weeks now and it is looking good in my eyes, it’s opening up and allowing Barrie to be himself and contribute offensively, and Rielly is playing through an injury but he has looked good in some games. Would like to see him get some rest with the All Star break coming up.
Muzzin and Holl have been the best Maple Leafs defensive pairing mainly because they are the confirmed shutdown pairing against top lines on the other team. With Muzzin being out week to week with a broken foot Marincin has seen some time in that shutdown roll with Holl, although as of last game against the Jets, Marincin was bumped down to the third pairing who he swapped D partners with Dermott.
Last pairing is the Dermott and Ceci pairing and there is not too much to say about this pairing, except Dermott is good at hockey and Ceci is not. But these pairings are most likely going to stay the same when everyone comes back from injury unless there is a trade and Ceci is moved but I guess we will just have to wait for that day to come.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have quite a few days off until their next game which is Sunday night against the Florida Panthers, it gives them the days to rest and go over some things that weren’t perfect against the Edmonton Oilers and the Winnipeg Jets. You can catch the game at 7pm Eastern on Sportsnet.