Joined: Jan. 2018
Posts: 2,449
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I agree that Rielly and Barrie paired together is not ideal from a defensive zone perspective. They are not good without the puck as a duo. Dermott is not a top pairing guy at this point. I doubt he ever will be.
Until the Leafs actually acquire a legit top pairing RD to play with Rielly expect the same mediocre results defensively from this team.
Marincin is relatively sound defensively but handles the puck like a live hand grenade. Ceci is a capable bottom paring guy but simply makes too much money to justify his presence there as you cited.
An optimal TML D Core would look something like this IMO...
Rielly / Legit Top Pairing RHD
Muzzin / Barrie
Dermott / Holl
With Sandin and Liljegren waiting in the shadows of the AHL to jump in when needed.
Acquiring that legit top pairing RHD has been the bane of this teams existence for some time now. Here's hoping they can do that before the February trade deadline at the expense of some offensive excess and perhaps some draft or and/or prospect capital.
Best trade chips at present are... Johnsson, Ceci, Bracco, and Timashov. Does a combination of those players and picks and prospects return that much coveted player? The jury is still out in that regard.