Toronto Maple Leafs Report: Ceci and Barrie Will Not Be Re-Signed

The Toronto Maple Leafs will not be re-signing either Tyson Barrie or Cody Ceci this off-season.

This probably isn’t a shock, but according to Pierre LeBrun, the Toronto Maple Leafs will not be bringing back two defenseman this off-season, despite needing help on the right-side. That means that Cody Ceci and Tyson Barrie will have new homes next year for the third time in three seasons.

Besides Jake Gardiner, who was great for the Leafs and never deserved the scorn he got,  I can’t remember a time where a defenseman has been ridiculed more than Ceci and Barrie. Both of these players are legitimate top-six players in the NHL, but they get treated like healthy scratches in the ECHL.

I’m not here to defend Ceci and Barrie because at their price-tag, I don’t think it would make sense for the Leafs to re-sign them, but they did get unfairly treated in Toronto. The Ceci scrutiny was a little more justified, but in my opinion the Barrie bashing was unjust.

We’ve done this a few times on this website, but I can’t bring up how good Barrie was under Sheldon Keefe enough. For old time’s sake, let’s take a look at Barrie’s stats once again with Mike Babcock and without him.

Under Mike Babcock: 

• 0 Goals, 7 Assists, 7 Points (23 Games Played)
• 0.30 Points Per Game

Under Sheldon Keefe:

• 5 Goals, 27 Assists, 32 Points (52 Games Played)
• 0.62 Points Per Game

Before Barrie played a game in Toronto, people loved the trade, and under Keefe he performed to the exact ability he did in Colorado. But for some reason, people now hated him and thought he was a terrible defenseman. For eight years at $8M per season, the deal didn’t make sense, but the fact that the Leafs had him at $2.5M for this season was a bargain.

The more I think about the Nazem Kadri trade, the more I’m OK with it because in a full-season under Keefe, Barrie would have been loved much more.

What’s Next For the Toronto Maple Leafs Defense?

Now that we know Ceci and Barrie are gone, the Leafs have the following defenseman signed for next year:

• Jake Muzzin
• Morgan Rielly
• Justin Holl
• Rasmus Sandin
• Timothy Liljegren
• Calle Rosen
• Martin Marincin
• Mikko Lehtonen
• Travis Dermott – RFA Pending

Assuming Dermott re-signs, the team still needs to sign one more right-handed defenseman to fill out a proper top-six. Unsure what Lehtonen, Lilejgren and Sandin will provide next season, the Leafs could use some more depth on the defense, since Rosen and Marincin are high-end AHL talents, not full-time NHLers.

By ensuring the team doesn’t resign Barrie or Ceci, this doesn’t mean that someone like Alex Pietrangelo is now affordable. If the team wishes to go down that route, they still need to make a few moves to clear some space. It’s unlikely that Pietrangelo will become a Leaf but you never know what’s going to happen in the next few days.

As much as I would have loved to see Barrie on a cheap deal again next year, it makes sense to see him go. But with Barrie and Ceci gone, who will Leafs Twitter make fun of next? We’ll just have to wait a few months to find out, I guess.