Leafs defence is alreay going to be solid. The only move Dubas would even entertain would be to add a UFA defenceman. Think Dubas will pass on this trade.

Reilly, Muzzin, holl, Dermott, sandin, Lehtonen isn’t exactly a solid D core. I think Dubas will make a move to address the D in the offseason

I can understand your comment but i think this defence is alot better than it is being given credit.

Rielly is a top 10 defenceman in NHL when he is healthy and this year was a writeoff for him as he was injured almost the entire year.
Muzzen is a top 10 shutdown defenceman in the entire NHL.
Holl proved when paired with Muzzen that he was a very effective shut down defenceman and you need to realize that he is basically a rookie and is only going to get better with experience.
Dermott has huge upside potential to my mind. I really think he is going to be a truly great top pairing defenceman and has been slow cooking but ready now for more responsiblity.
Sandin or the Sandman is going to be a tremendous defenceman in the NHL. Top defenceman at World Juniors and AHL last year and he has potential to be a No. 1 defenceman in the NHL.
Lehtonen was top defenceman in Europe last year and is very offensive and is going to replace Barrie.
Liljegren has huge upside and Leafs were lucky to draft him as he fell in draft as was sick most of his draft year. The Leafs will continue to slow cook and protect him and
bring him along slowly.

i do agree with you that Dubas is going to make a move to add to this defense group but I think it will be to add a UFA defenceman.

How is that not a solid d core? Ill admit its not the best in the league but its a major upgrade over any defense we've had recently.

One of the best defensive prospects right now in Sandin gven time to get stronger and work on his game plus start the season with the team.

Muzzin-Holl was a great shutdown pairing, no reason to believe they'll be bad all of a sudden.

Rielly is one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHL, granted he doesnt have a pre-determined partner but someone like demelo or hamonic may be brought in.

Dermott is a steady guy who can play top 4 minutes if there are injuries and deserves a shot at the top 4 in camp because of his solid play the last 2 seasons.

Lehtonen was the best european defenseman last year and plays a two way game, if he signed with a team other than Toronto people would be saying hes going to be great.

So they may not have the Blues dcore but on paper this is a top half defense, we'll see how it all plays out but you have to remember the Leafs run an offensive system so theres less support for the dmen out there versus a columbus or isles system

I'd say the Toronto D is pretty alright. It's the goaltending that's the issue.

Anderson this year:

-4th most SA
-5th highest xGA
-6th most HDSA
-1st most rush attempts

To me that reads that TOR gave up a lot of shots, but they also gave up a lot of high quality shots as well.

Muzzin is among the top LHDs in the league - no need to qualify that statement.

Rielly is the offensive D that every team needs and values highly.

But let's face it: there's a lot of uncertainty with the rest of the defensive core.

Holl only had one half of a season to shine in a more demanding role. If he stays on that trajectory, we got 3/4 of a top 4. We'll see.

Dermott plays 15 minutes. We don't know yet how he'll handle pressure and big minutes.

We don't know how Lehtonen will adapt with the NHL. He could be a homerun, or a bust.

Sandin is the one who should be pushed up the lineup, but there's no place for him on the left.

The critics are right. Unless we have a pleasant surprise, we'll need one more player to consolidate the blue line.

Team defense is very much a work in progress. I'm not surprised.

Until last year Andersen was actually playing like an elite goalie... if he can go back to that level TOR will be fine

I like the trade except drop the third and Liljegren, add Mac Hollowell. Leafs dumb salary and have a defenseman trading clip at trade deadline next year.

Yep this is why I think the Leafs need a steady 2- way D.



Yes he was playing at an elite level the last few years but this season not so much. This is part of why I think the Leafs should try moving away from Andersen.

Right, but that player could pretty much be any of the RD in this FA class. Demelo, Hamonic, etc. Even Schultz is a good option as he'd be cheap

Cats decline, they don’t have a need for AJ or Kerfoot

Rather deal Dermot ++ for Weegar