The Toronto Maple Leafs will never be a Stanley Cup contender until they have a number-one defenseman.
Look around the NHL and every team at the top of the standings has a number-one defenseman. Whether it's Colorado with Cale Makar, Tampa Bay with Victor Hedman, Dallas with Thomas Harley or the recently acquired Quinn Hughes in Minnesota, all of the top teams have a legitimate top-pairing defender.
Unfortunately for Leafs fans, the team hasn't had a number-one defenseman in 20 years? Ever since Thomas Kaberle or Bryan McCabe was on the team, the Leafs have had some good defenseman, but not great.
You could argue that Dion Phaneuf, Morgan Rielly or even Chris Tanev have been number-one defensemen at one point, but realistically they would all be second or third defenseman on a Stanley Cup roster, which is why this team hasn't been to an Eastern Conference Finals since 2002.
Toronto's offense has been good enough over the past decade to guide them in the playoffs, but that's where it's stopped. The games get tighter and it's harder to score, so the team that defends the best typically wins.
The Leafs have been "goalied" multiple times and one of the main reasons why they've been on the wrong side of Game 7's is because their defense was worse than their opponent.
Leafs need to priortize drafting and develop a defenseman
It's a tall-task but the Leafs need to prioritize the acquisition of a top defender. It's very hard to acquire one via trade, but it's not impossible. The Minnesota Wild pulled it off by trading for Quinn Hughes a few months ago, but for the most part you have to draft and develop them.
Look at the NY Islanders for example. They hit the jackpot drafting Matthew Schaefer first-overall last year and he changed the entire dynamic of the roster. Not only can he score, but he eats up 25 minutes of ice-time and is a reliable defender on a nightly basis. He's taken the Islanders from having zero hope to a playoff team in just one year.
It's going to be hard to fall off a cliff and get a top-five pick this year, but the Leafs need to tank immediately and at least try. There are currently three defenseman in the top-four NHL Draft Prospect Rankings, so the Leafs need to find a way to draft one of those players.
All four of those defenseman I mentioned off the top are first-round draft picks, so the team needs to priortize drafting and developing defenseman right now. They still have the skill with Nylander, Matthews, Tavares and Matthew Knies but need that top defender.
The Leafs can retool and be a playoff team again next year, but until they find a number-one defender, they will not be a Stanley Cup contender.