Toronto Maple Leafs Are Either Being Really Patient or Really Dumb

The Toronto Maple Leafs are either being really patient or really dumb.

Since I have no insight into the Toronto Maple Leafs actual thought process (they don’t tell us what they are thinking until they do something) all I can do is speculate, and the conclusions I’ve drawn based on that speculation is that they are either impressively patient or they have made a major miscalculation.

They have a 22 year old defenseman who, based on his performance last season before a knee injury, was on track to become the first top-pairing defenseman developed by the Leafs in the decade since they drafted Morgan Rielly.

That defenseman currently has no place to play, and is unsigned entering the season. 

If the team has a plan in place ready to bring Sandin back into the fold, then their patience is impressive, assuming they pull it off.

IF they are actually of the opinion that they can risk losing a potential star defenseman who they can get reasonably cheap because they don’t want to hurt the feelings of a veteran former star, then they are making a horrible mistake.

The Toronto Maple Leafs Are Smart If:

They understand that Jake Muzzin is done.  Justin Holl did better last year without Muzzin, and 2021-22 was the year Muzzin’s age finally caught up with him.

The 33 year old warrior missed 35 games with 2 concussions, and was not the player we expected when he did play. The $5.5 million he is owed is no longer money well spent, and his replacement is Rasmus Sandin, who is already the better player.

Complicating matters is a No Movement Clause in Muzzin’s contract that prevents the Leafs from doing anything about the fact that they have a cheaper, younger, better replacement ready to go right now.

Moving Muzzin would allow them to sign Sandin and be under the cap.  It also makes them a better team.  Sandin needs to play, and missing training camp is a terrible idea, especially when the solution is so obvious.

If they are smart, they will either pressure Muzzin into agreeing to be moved, or they put him on the LTIR as soon as they can.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are Dumb If:

Muzzin plays a single minute for them this year.  Unless they blatantly keep him on the LTIR until the playoffs in the Nikita Kucherov style, there is no way to keep him on the roster that isn’t a mistake.

Muzzin has been a great player for the Leafs, but it’s time to move out the more expensive player for the younger one.  The Leafs have Giordano and Rielly, so having both Muzzin and Sandin is unnecessary.

The right side with Brodie, Liljegren and Holl is set.  The Leafs have flexibility and could get rid of Holl and Kerfoot in a misguided attempt to keep Muzzin and Sandin, but that would be a mistake.

If the Leafs can maintain the flexibility inherent in having the easily movable Holl and Kerfoot on the roster until younger players force them out, that would be ideal.

In the meantime, the team is making a major error if they fail  to find a spot for Sandin to play without him missing any time.  Muzzin obviously has to go, and the team has to find a way to make that happen.  Anything less hurts the team.

Being sentimental and refusing to force an obviously declining player to waive his NTC for the good of the team is only going to have negative consequences.

It will be extremely interesting to see which way Kyle Dubas and the Toronto Maple Leafs go here. The solution to the Sandin Impasse is obvious, but do the Leafs have the stomach for it or are they too sentimental?