i highly doubt he would trade engvall and get 9 lineup worthy defenseman to just be done

If you never traded players who were friends with ither guys on the team youd never trade anyone and the leafs got someone who is better than sandin now, who can play both sides which he cant and a 1st. You make that trade every day if you have two LD he's never going to beat out, and gus can run the 2nd pp where sandin wasn't great at it
And liljegren took a big hit the last game and the leafs wanted to give two new guys a look in a back to back.

He's probably trying to trade Holl or Gustafsson but he's not just going to dump them for free probably. If Rielly goes down, Gustaffson would be the guy to take his place with Sandin gone. Holl's role is kind of been taken over by McCabe+Schenn but yeah it's all about making that work. Schenn isn't a top 4 D man so he's not going to mind the reduced minutes.

They got Jordie Benn too, so I think they really will want to move Holl.

To win the Cup the Leafs need Goaltending. Dubas should target Anderson from the Sabres. He is hot and in great shape and would help deep in the playoffs. Samsonov will not be able to do it on his own. That is my opinion. Teams that make it to the final have goaltending.

Leafs Top 6 are one of the best in the league. The D looks good and you need insurance in case of injuries in the playoffs.

Goaltending is what they need!!!

No disrespect but it seems you forget how playoff hockey works. yes Timmins has been a great reclamation project and has been good. He started to slip before all these trades. You want to shelter him a little and give him a few opportunities down the stretch and have him be ready for next year.

Sandin was also having a few inconsistent plays. mix in him being 4th on the left side and not able to switch to the right, plus contract problems earlier, apparently his agent earlier told Dubas that he wanted to play so now he plays. Its asset management. ZAR has been a decent winger but nothing stellar. You need to keep the competitiveness in the locker room otherwise players get complacent and their play slips.

In terms of the relationships and all that, Nylander is a pro, just cause you have a buddy on a team doesn't mean you can't get over it and play hockey. these guys have more money than we will see in our lives, they will be able to see each other in the off season. Do you get sad and not do your job if your buddy stops working with you?

You look at the other teams blueline for every year that the leafs have been eliminated they have size and grit. Dubas tried the small skill route and now he has to try something new.
If you see all the moves hes done and then see that they still have all their top prospects??? thats why Dubas is getting praise. Theres no negative with having proper depth.


Would not be shocked if Dubas trades Holl with a first for a retained top 6 winger. You then go into the playoffs with 13 deep fwds and 8 NHL d men. When tampa won in the bubble i believe they used 13 d men? He's done everything in his power, now its time for the top 6 to play in the big moments