Joined: Jul. 2021
Posts: 602
Likes: 299
This D core is worse than before. Gio should be 7th D. That's the only thing I agree with.
Schenn isn't what he used to be, he's also hurt. Hasn't played since October 10th. So trading a 1st pick is horrible. Even if he wasn't hurt, he's a bottom pairing D. He was bad at defense last year, and fed most of his offense off of Quinn Hughes. He came to Toronto and his offense fell off, even though he was playing with Rielly most of the time.
Brodie may not be flashy or that tough, but he's one of the most consistent defensive defensemen year in and year out. His positioning is great, which limits opportunities. If he has to go to bring in Tanev and Zadorov, so be it. But it's not a great move as it only boosts defense a little bit.
Timmins has just gotten back from injury, but was decent before. Give him a sec to get readjusted. Lagesson is an AHLer. Hes not a full-time roster player at all; he's only there because Klingberg and Liljegren are out.
Middleton is...meh. So it Lyubushkin. Both are physical, but that doesn't make them great players.
Essentially, McCabe and Gio were the only full time roster players who were bottom pairing guys. You now have Bush, Middleton, Schenn, and arguably Zadorov. This is worse. Maybe even significantly. Zadorov and Tanev are the only two additions that are useful. But giving up Brodie for them isn't that great.