The Toronto Maple Leafs defensive depth issues could have been solved if they kept Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren, but the team decided to move on from them early.
Both Liljegren and Sandin are 25 years-old or younger and have been strong contributors to their new team's after leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sandin has been excelling with the first-place Washington Capitals, while Liljegren is a consistent top-four defenseman in San Jose.
When the Leafs traded Liljegren near the start of the season, it didn't make sense to me. Besides Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev, who are a legitimate top defensive unit, the rest of the team's defensemen are poor. You may be in love with Morgan Rielly for his longevity and ability to turn it on in the playoffs, but he hasn't been any good this year, and in my opinion, has one of the worst contracts in hockey.
So instead of developing their young defenseman, who were making little money and can out perform their contract every single night, the team decided to trade them iand use Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Simon Benoit, Philippe Myers and Conor Timmins intead.
The Leafs are winning games and are near the top of the Atlantic Division right now, but at this rate, they may slip out of a playoff spot if they don't upgrade their defense. Joseph Woll had to play the game of his life last Saturday night against the Edmonton Oilers, or the team would have lost 10-4, and the defense continues to get exposed every night.
Leafs Never Should Have Traded Sandin or Liljegren
If the Leafs kept Sandin and Liljegren, they would have had a solid bottom-pairing that could stay with this club for the next decade, but the organization didn't see value in them.
At least when they traded Sandin, they were able to draft Easton Cowan with the first-rounder they recieved, but in the case of Liljegren, they only recieved a third-rounder, who most likely won't amount to anything.
If Liljegren and Sandin were still on the team, they would easily be the team's second-pairing defenseman and Morgan Rielly could slide to the No. 5 position, which is where he deserves to be right now. If that's the case, the team wouldn't have to worry about trying to acquire another two or three defenseman at the deadline, but instead could focus on one big fish and go all-in.
Whether it's Bowan Byram or Noah Dobson, the Leafs could have used more assets to acquire one great player instead of a bunch of smaller assets for a mediocre return.
The Leafs need to do something to upgrade their team immediately and fix their mistakes of trading Sandin and Liljegren, who were two drafted and developed Grade A prospects, which you dream about.