Team: 2023-24 Toronto Maple Leafs

Initial Creation Date: Nov. 5, 2023

Published: Nov. 5, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Klingberg Trade:
I wish we never signed him, I hated it in the moment and it just is not panning out. He has the worst xGA/60 of any defenseman last year and has a worse xGA/60 this year than he did last year. I really hoped he was going to pan out but unless we use him in a third pair role, sheltering his minutes with strictly o-zone starts playing 15 minutes a night - it just will not work. I think the trade is giving the Sharks plenty to retain a one year contract. They've shown ability in taking on contracts for assets with the Karlsson trade. Here, they get Ty Voit who is an incredibly strong prospect and has really good potential. I don't think we need to give this much but Treliving should be doing anything he can to get out of that contract.

Reaves to minors:
This is necessary, there is a group of about five guys in the league who will entertain Reaves; other than a fight against any of those guys, he is an absolute liability. If we are going to go after an enforcer type player, I would much rather have signed Hathaway or Foligno as they can actually contribute positively in their minutes.

McMann and Robertson up:
McMann would fit perfectly on the wing with that fourth line as Kampf needs two fast, strong puck carriers to be successful as seen with Engvall and Mikheyev. Kampf is incredibly effective in the D-Zone and along the walls with retrieving the puck, but has a lot of trouble exiting the d-zone - with Reaves on that line is amplifies these issues as he's just a floater. Robertson looked timid and jumpy in the preseason but he has looked calm and composed with the Marlies and has been able to create a lot of space for himself, it's time to give him a shot.

Clear Holes in the lineup:
We have two evident holes, 3C and on defence. I have Domi in that 3C slot right now but I do not think he is the answer, worth a shot, but not the answer. I want Treliving to go after players like Scott Laughton, Morgan Frost, Yanni Gourde, etc. On defence, I think we have a legit top pair in Rielly-Brodie, they have looked really strong this year. I also think McCabe is a legit top-4 defenseman. Liljegren also looked really strong and could fill in the top-4 but I would rather that not be the answer. GIordano showed in the playoffs last year that he needs a lot of load management throughout the season to be successful. I want Treliving to go after one, maybe two defencemen to push Giordano out of the lineup and fill that bottom pair hole. Players I would want to see would be Zadorov, Jamie Oleksiak, Justin Schultz, or Connor Murphy.

I had a really in depth analysis of everything before and it deleted when I tried to post because I don't think I saved it, it included all of Keefe's systems and how and why all these players would be effective or why some have not been effective yet. If whoever reads this is interested in that let me know and I will re-write it.