5 Regrets the Toronto Maple Leafs Will Have This Summer

2. Not Upgrading the Blue-Line

Off all the things the Toronto Maple Leafs did or didn't do this past year, there is only one thing they will come to regret more than not upgrading their blue-line.

The Leafs signed Klingberg in the summer with an idea that another puck-moving defenseman would really help the team as assembled. This was a sensible, and I believe, correct assessment.

The Leafs were misguided in choosing Klingberg specifically, but he did exemplify the type of player they needed - just a healthier version.

And to be sure, even a healthy Klinbgerg wasn't enough to put the Leafs blue-line in line with the better ones in the league, but their most confusing move was not replacing Klinbger when he went down.

The Leafs added Joel Edmundson and Ilya Lyubushkin, two players who are difficult to play against, but whose value is largely offset by their lack of offense and a tendancy to get stuck in their own zones. If they make the Leafs blue-line better it is not by a significant degree.

The Leafs blue-line is absent a top-level superstar and lacks mobility and puck-moving skills overall. Given how good the team's forwards are, I think it was a major mistake to try to get through this season with such an obvious weakness.

You can't expect the management to work miracles, but I don't think adding players who are significantly better than Lyubushkin or Edmundson is a big ask.