When Will Toronto Maple Leafs Overhaul Their Defense?

The Toronto Maple Leafs are not having much luck with their defense.

The Toronto Maple Leafs blue-line is beset with injuries. Conor Timmins, Jake McCabe, and Timothy Liljegren are all injured, with no specific return date. It sounds like Timmins and McCabe could be getting close while Liljegren will be out for a while.

Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said during the off-season that he would “overhaul the defense.” Adding John Klingberg doesn’t count as an overhaul, and he hasn’t been a good enough addition.

Eventually, an elite number-one to push everyone on the depth chart down a notch is going to be needed if the team wants to win the Stanley Cup, while a stay-at-home style defenseman with size who won’t get pushed around would be the best realistic option for right now.

The Leafs defense, when healthy, is not good enough, so with the current injuries, it is even worse.

Mark Giordano isn’t bad, but he’s 40 and shouldn’t be playing regularly.

T.J. Brodie is capable of playing in the top four, but his play is declining. With both of them and Klingberg being unrestricted free agents this summer, expect one or two of them to get moved before the NHL trade deadline.

Hopefully, Treliving will address the need for a defenseman soon. I’m sure he’s been looking at all options, but I’m not sure how much longer the Leafs can afford to wait.

If the Leafs had a fully healthy defense, I would have said to wait until at least American Thanksgiving (November 23rd), but I don’t know if they can wait that long now. Here is a look at a few defensemen the Leafs could target for a trade.