Quoting: Campabee
Yeah I know he was played in a top 4 role, Chiarot is a top 4 D man though. He plays 20+ minutes a night and if paired properly with a mobile D man like Petry, Kulak or Romanov he does just fine. He may not be the most mobile D man in the league but he can still skate as well as 1/2 to 2/3 of the league. He is never going to win a foot race with the likes of McDavid, Marner, Matthews, Barkov or those top stars but he will keep up with the likes of the Tkachuk's, Pasternak, Kadri types of players an 3rd and 4th liners with the exception of the Byron's of the league. Since Chiarot is a 2nd pairing D man he really doesn't have to worry too much about facing the superstars since only about a 3rd of his shifts will be against the top line players anyway, unless the other team I on the PP and then the Habs will mostly be in their own end and speed isn't as much of a factor as positioning and shot blocking. 2 things Chiarot is excellent at.
Let me put it this way, Chiarot, like Zadorov, like Mayfield, like Savard, like Regehr, is a defenseman that can work really well in a trap based system. He can play in the top 4 but is ideally a 3rd pair shutdown guy on any team trying to contend. Toronto is not a team that runs the Trap, they run a style very similar to how the Penguins won their Stanley cups. They overwhelm the opponent with puck possession. However Every team needs a little bit of everything, hence bringing in a guy like Lyubushkin for the 3rd pair. Ben Chiarot does not fit their system though, he is not good a puck control and he is poor at skating. He would in reality never be in the lineup over someone like Sandin.
On the other hand someone like Giordano would, he is excellent at carrying the puck, excellent at defending and killing the PK, can skate well, and is solid offensively. From a need standpoint Toronto targets Gio over Chiarot 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and twice on Sundays. It's not even up for debate, Gio is just the far better choice all around