Quoting: Random2152
Hainsey is being transitioned away, as Dermott is still developing, and we don't want to ruin him. Also Babs is a firm believer in not giving anything to anyone, making you fully earn it before letting you go. By game 20-30 I expect the change to be mostly permanent. They have been more physical, and making smarter players all year. Zaitzev has looked very good, Rielly is a stud, and Gards is still Gards, although I have noticed him making some smarter plays and being physical this year. Oz has been great, Dermott is looking more and more like the guy we need, and Hainsey, while ageing has had a decent couple of games. Still needs to be moved to the third pair, but he hasn't been bad. Also, last night those 34 shots were against Sparks, so that tells me most were low danger scoring chances considering the 33/34 saves.
Any realistic hockey fan would point you to the games, specifically against Ottawa, Montreal and Chicago when it comes to painting a picture at our defense. I would say both Dermott and Ozhiganov, especially Ozhiganov being transition to the North American-style of hockey, are still developing. However, my issue is with our top-4 outside of Reilly. If Hainsey played 15 minutes a night against weaker competition, you wouldn't notice the holes. As for Gardiner, he's still giving up pucks like crazy. You can say Gards is still Gards, but the way that he plays hurts this team, they just have no better options. Zaitsev is a mixed bag, because he seems to have his better games and his worse games. What the Leafs need is a boost in their top-4 and especially on their defensive end and on their penalty kill. I am not saying replace the entire group, since that would be impossible, but I am certainly curious to what the Leafs may be able to acquire for Nylander. Our defense has been extremely mediocre defensively so far this season, some of that certainly falls on the forwards, who also give away the puck a fair bit.