Let's speculate, if the Leafs lose in the 1st round and our defence sucks again, what will be done?

-Explore the trade market for young top 4 D talent, with nylander/kapanen/johnson + picks/prospects as the chips?
-Add via free agency?
-Which prospects will graduate to the Leafs?

-Will they try to resign Muzzin?
-Will Gardiner take a discount to stay? Not a chance imo
-Zaitsev is horrible. Will they add in a trade to get rid of him? Will they buy him out? Will they hope they can acquire 2-3 better Dmen so he can play on the 3rd pairing?
- BestRapperAlive

-Yes
-Yes
-Sandin/Rosen/Lijegren one, if not two.

-Muzzin still has a year left on his deal, so maybe?
-Gardiner should not take a discount
-Yes, trade no buyout.

Let's speculate, if the Leafs lose in the 1st round and our defence sucks again, what will be done?

-Explore the trade market for young top 4 D talent, with nylander/kapanen/johnson + picks/prospects as the chips?
-Add via free agency?
-Which prospects will graduate to the Leafs?

-Will they try to resign Muzzin?
-Will Gardiner take a discount to stay? Not a chance imo
-Zaitsev is horrible. Will they add in a trade to get rid of him? Will they buy him out? Will they hope they can acquire 2-3 better Dmen so he can play on the 3rd pairing?
- BestRapperAlive

There will be way less pressure on everyone next season (especially guys like Zaitsev) after winning the cup in a few months...

That why you take what the media prints lightly.
- Garnie

Can you explain this comment?
I can't figure out what you mean in the context of comparing Trump and Babcock's lack of articulation

Let's speculate, if the Leafs lose in the 1st round and our defence sucks again, what will be done?

-Explore the trade market for young top 4 D talent, with nylander/kapanen/johnson + picks/prospects as the chips? Yes, explore, not overpay
-Add via free agency? Doubtful, would have to be someone with identical contract to Marincin but can play hockey
-Which prospects will graduate to the Leafs? Liljegren and Sandin will get a look, but I expect roster to look very similar next year

-Will they try to resign Muzzin? depends after next year
-Will Gardiner take a discount to stay? Not a chance imo - agreed, his fragility will scare him more into taking a big payday
-Zaitsev is horrible. Will they add in a trade to get rid of him? Will they buy him out? Will they hope they can acquire 2-3 better Dmen so he can play on the 3rd pairing? zaitsev stays, hopefully they have a psychologist and assistant coach who are willing to work with him throughout the summer. The decision making was there at one point, now he's just scared
- BestRapperAlive

Answers in-line

There will be way less pressure on everyone next season (especially guys like Zaitsev) after winning the cup in a few months...
- poopstash

Why haven’t the fans at least considered the Leafs winning the Cup? Not trolling, just asking a question.

Let's speculate, if the Leafs lose in the 1st round and our defence sucks again, what will be done?

-Explore the trade market for young top 4 D talent, with nylander/kapanen/johnson + picks/prospects as the chips?
-Add via free agency?
-Which prospects will graduate to the Leafs?

-Will they try to resign Muzzin?
-Will Gardiner take a discount to stay? Not a chance imo
-Zaitsev is horrible. Will they add in a trade to get rid of him? Will they buy him out? Will they hope they can acquire 2-3 better Dmen so he can play on the 3rd pairing?
- BestRapperAlive

D under contract for next year

Rielly
Muzzin
Zietsev
Dermott
Holl

I bolded the 3 to keep
not sure what actual NHL level D we can get from the Marlies. hopefully at least 1 more?

That leaves 2 spots for Dubas to fill

The Leafs are 15th overall in GA this season, and pretty much right in the middle of the high/low range. Could the defense be improved? Absolutely. But it's not a complete tire fire either, and there is in all likelihood some help in the pipeline over the next few seasons.

For a team that "forgot about defense" in their rebuild they certainly spent a lot of early round picks on defensemen the past few years.
- poopstash

What do you mean?

Dermott 2nd rd pick in 2015
Liljegren 1st rd pick in 2017
Rasanen 2nd rd pick in 2017
Sandin 1st rd pick in 2018
Durzi (now traded) 2nd rd pick in 2018.

Let's speculate, if the Leafs lose in the 1st round and our defence sucks again, what will be done?

-Explore the trade market for young top 4 D talent, with nylander/kapanen/johnson + picks/prospects as the chips?
-Add via free agency?
-Which prospects will graduate to the Leafs?

-Will they try to resign Muzzin?
-Will Gardiner take a discount to stay? Not a chance imo
-Zaitsev is horrible. Will they add in a trade to get rid of him? Will they buy him out? Will they hope they can acquire 2-3 better Dmen so he can play on the 3rd pairing?
- BestRapperAlive

Muzzin is already signed for next year. If he continues to play well, they'd certainly explore resigning him. Gardiner is walking. Unless he decides he wants to play for $1.5 million, he's already packed up.

They have Rosen, Sandin, Liljegren who are possibilities for next year. I don't think any of them drive the play like Gardiner, but who knows? This year, Gardiner has been only half as good as years past, so he may not be that difficult to replace.

Really, and it's been said a ton of times, 2021 is the year to build looking from. The pieces are in place and maturing for that year as a starting point, I think.

There will be way less pressure on everyone next season (especially guys like Zaitsev) after winning the cup in a few months...
- poopstash

Let's beat the Bruins before mentioning the C word

What do you mean?

Dermott 2nd rd pick in 2015
Liljegren 1st rd pick in 2017
Rasanen 2nd rd pick in 2017
Sandin 1st rd pick in 2018
Durzi (now traded) 2nd rd pick in 2018.
- PatC80

Mac Hollowell proably in the list

The Leafs are 15th overall in GA this season, and pretty much right in the middle of the high/low range. Could the defense be improved? Absolutely. But it's not a complete tire fire either, and there is in all likelihood some help in the pipeline over the next few seasons.

For a team that "forgot about defense" in their rebuild they certainly spent a lot of early round picks on defensemen the past few years.
- poopstash

Now where would they be in GA without their MVP Freddy?

Why haven’t the fans at least considered the Leafs winning the Cup? Not trolling, just asking a question.
- Dongull_Trump

Winning a championship in the NHL (and a lot of other team sports) is a funny thing. Rarely does the team that looked the best in the regular season actually win it all (sorry Tampa).

It's all about getting hot at the right time and riding that wave of momentum as long as you can. Never underestimate the power of big mo'.

The Leafs, as good as their roster is on paper, imo, have no where near reached their potential...yet. If they can get by Boston in round one (which they almost did last year without Tavares, Muzzin, and Kadri for a few games) they are going to have the monkey off their back and can play a lot less uptight.

Stanley Cup winning teams save their best hockey for the playoffs. The Leafs have yet to play their best hockey.

D under contract for next year

Rielly
Muzzin
Zietsev
Dermott
Holl

I bolded the 3 to keep
not sure what actual NHL level D we can get from the Marlies. hopefully at least 2 more?

That leaves 2 spots for Dubas to fill
- senstroll

We do need to fill 2 spots.. So, sign Anton Stralman and bring up Liljegren/Rosen/Sandin.

Rielly - Anton Stralman (UFA signing, hopefully similar to what Hainsey got)
Muzzin - Zaitsev (I still kind of like this pairing)
Dermott - Liljegren?

Mac Hollowell proably in the list
- senstroll

Hollowell was a 4th rd pick, not really early round.

Now where would they be in GA without their MVP Freddy?
- BestRapperAlive

Too scary to think about

Now where would they be in GA without their MVP Freddy?
- BestRapperAlive

if he gave up 12 more break away goals they would be out of the playoffs

Oileralytics

Now where would they be in GA without their MVP Freddy?
- BestRapperAlive

Totally fair. But I would include quality of goaltending in my measure of overall team defense. If you put the Olympic Team Canada defense in front of a stinker of a goalie they would probably have a tough time as a unit.

We do need to fill 2 spots.. So, sign Anton Stralman and bring up Liljegren/Rosen/Sandin.

Rielly - Anton Stralman (UFA signing, hopefully similar to what Hainsey got)
Muzzin - Zaitsev (I still kind of like this pairing)
Dermott - Liljegren?
- PatC80

Haha, no comment. The funny part is watching Marincin
- Garnie

He doesn't count as a part of the team.

- senstroll

Meh.
Stralman can still play relatively well.
Muzzin and Zaitsev haven't been horrible
and one of Liljegren/Sandin/Rosen

Now where would they be in GA without their MVP Freddy?
- BestRapperAlive

Freddie is getting a little bit overrated. he's a very consistent, good goalie, but far from some saviour.

One thing is, Dermott has to get off the 3rd pairing. He's too good.

Now where would they be in GA without their MVP Freddy?
- BestRapperAlive

Freddy is good. But I see this argument all the time. Ever notice that crappy teams have crappy goalies? Good teams have good goalies? Tampa has Vasilevskiy with a .930 sv%. Domingue who is a decent backup has a .908.

Andersen is .918 and Sparks is .903. Price is .917 and Niemi sucks.

The leafs are middle of the pack in terms of High Danger chances against, and a bit below average in scoring chances. I doubt they'd be that much different, but having a decent goalie you can trust changes your style of play to take more chances offensively.

The problem ultimately is that the Leafs style of play hinges on a defenseman who can skate, is smart, agile, and can make quick, crisp passes out of the zone.

We don't have many of those, obviously, because there aren't a lot of them going around - but one thing those defensemen usually have in common - they are all poop at playing defense, so I wouldn't be looking for miracles on the back-end.

Freddie is getting a little bit overrated. he's a very consistent, good goalie, but far from some saviour.
- RogerRoeper

Hes the mvp of the team. No question.
Without him, this isnt a playoff team

Hes the mvp of the team. No question.
Without him, this isnt a playoff team
- Fakepartofme

Sorry, I don't buy that. They have a Norris contender, the best centres depth in the NHL and elite wingers.

Any goalie who provides average numbers we'd be in no problem.

Every year like clockwork Freddie is a .918 or .919 goalie. That's good, but not spectacular.

If we had the Isles goaltending we'd be in second place.