Edited May 12, 2020 at 3:34 p.m.
There seems to this illusion that Leafs Dmen are so bad that they can get another teams 4,5,6,7 Dman and this would guarantee the Leaf success.
First, the Leafs are not going to have their two worse Dmen from last year on the team Barrie and Ceci, an improvement by deletion.
I know it hoping but the Leafs two best Dmen Muzzin, Reilly spent long periods on LTIR. So did Dermot.
Leaf will not have the worse coach in the NHL coaching them through training till mid November like they did last year
So, let's look at the Leafs defence. Reilly, Muzzin, Holl. That's solid. Dermot and Sandin. That's five. Then I the iffies. Liljegren, Lehoten, Marincin. Total for 8 Dman at 18m. Surely the Leafs can manurer their cap by adding another Dman if they want. San Jose who had worse GAA than the Leafs have 26.5m tied in three aging declining NTC Dman on long term deals. Now that's team in Dman trouble.
It's kinda silly talk that the Leaf have to find a perfect partner for Reilly. You would think if Reilly was such a premier Dman that so many Leaf fan think, Reilly could adjust his game and play more with more defensive responsibility when needed. Yep, I'm all for adding a competent RHD...but at what cost? My perfect scenario would be trading Johnsson with no cap returned (don't worry about what the Leafs get in return,) and sign UFA DeMelo. Now DeMelo isn't a star, but he can be competent.