Are the Leafs stupid not to get a 1D

[Halla]

I totally expect Leafs to make considerable upgrades tbis deadline - but im of the minority that we wait just ine more year, trade what we can, and go in full throttle next year - this is regular season. They are still too inexperiences to go deep

And now with Matthews out for extended period..

debateable. the hawks went from 1st rd knockout to conference finals to cup champions. why cant the leafs follow a similar trajectory?

 

[Superstar]

Mr. Morgan Friggin' Rielly...for the non-believers.

Fixed.

 

[Swedish Gretzky]

debateable. the hawks went from 1st rd knockout to conference finals to cup champions. why cant the leafs follow a similar trajectory?

For one, they dont have a toews level player - Matthews is not at the level of when Toews won his cups. Same with Kane

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

For one, they dont have a toews level player - Matthews is not at the level of when Toews won his cups. Same with Kane

You're right. He's better

 

[HellasLEAF]

Rielly is knocking on the door to be a #1D, but I personally need to see more.

He has a bit more maturity about him now though.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

We have a 1D, and at least half of the names listed there are worse than the 1D we currently have right now.

If the Leafs just replaced Gardiner with someone who was more defensively capable and consistent, then the defense is more than good. Having Rielly-Hainsey, and then Dermott + Borgman paired with Zaitsev and a defensively strong Gardiner-caliber player would give us a really good defense.

 

[Moncherry]

Because teams are just giving them away right?

I know. The way people talk about these kinds of players like they're easily attainable is irrating. Babcock had a good quote recently where he said player acquisition isn't like a tree where you can reach out and pick off anything you need.

The best way to acquire such players is through the draft. Which they've been doing, and they will continue to do. Going after a high-end player through trade is just going to weaken you somewhere else with the assets you'll have to give up to get one.

 

[connormcmuffin]

what's he doing in a thread about "#1D" at all?

He would help solidify the top four, he'd likely be on a top pair with Rielly.

Do you always nag semantics, just give me a heads up to hit ignore.

 

[Martin Skoula]

The biggest gain will be from getting someone who can push one of Zaitsev/Hainsey to the bottom pairing and get Polak/Carrick out of the lineup.

Rielly-Hainsey
Gardiner-X
Dermott-Zaitsev

3 solid pairings, don't feel nervous with any of them on the ice. That X can be a guy like Braun, Pysyk, or Petry. Why pay more than twice the price for McD/Tanev?

 

[Eternal Leaf]

it's crazy funny that people put Tanev in the same sentence as Karlsson/McDonagh/OEL.

and we do have a #1 dman.

That being said, yes, we should go out and get another #1 dman.

People put Reimer and Andersen in the same sentence too.

 

[Rogie]

Is JT slow? I never thought that!

 

[Faltorvo]

We have a gaping whole in the lineup, yeah I love Rielly but our blueline is still thin given Tanev, Karlsson, OEL and McDonagh are to some degree out there this deadline and up coming draft should it be imperative to land one?

Is this the kind of window you look back on and question why didn't you pull the trigger.

Even take a run at John Carlson as a UFA or a Trouba deal in July

To that end I'm ok with flipping JVR and/or Bozak for picks as ammo for a July deal.

-edit- Liljegren is off the table IMO, I'm a fanboy for Ryan Merkley so this thread is me questioning my blind faith in the draft, by all means bash my opinion looking for diverse hot takes and such.

We have a #1D

 

[Faltorvo]

Who? Reilly/gards is a 2/3 at best. Leaf fans please stop overrating your teams players

stop trolling the leafs board

 

[Faltorvo]

He would help solidify the top four, he'd likely be on a top pair with Rielly.

Do you always nag semantics, just give me a heads up to hit ignore.

wow, you have been here since Saturday and your already mouthing off

your a quality new addition OR something completely different.

 

[scooter87]

I'd be very surprised if management aren't making a serious run at some of the D talent available. It's gotta be for the right price though and the cost of quality D is super high at the moment.

 

[Welsh Maple Leaf]

I'm not sure we need a #1 dman but getting a 2/3 type guy to push Zaitsev down with Dermott would be huge.

 

[connormcmuffin]

wow, you have been here since Saturday and your already mouthing off

your a quality new addition OR something completely different.

Yep and just saw my first Leafs game tonight, picking up this culture easily.

 

[IWD]

He would help solidify the top four, he'd likely be on a top pair with Rielly.

Do you always nag semantics, just give me a heads up to hit ignore.

Semantics are about meaning, so they're pretty important. What he's doing is correcting your framing, and he's right, FWIW.

That being said, I like the idea of Tanev. But he's an oft-injured #2 defenseman. So unless the price ends up being the cost of a #3 defenseman to account for the injury history, then I think that the costs will outweigh the benefits.

 

[IWD]

I'm not sure we need a #1 dman but getting a 2/3 type guy to push Zaitsev down with Dermott would be huge.

I think the bigger issue may simply be the composition of the defense. There's a lot of skill, but no real grit or size in the top two pairings.

 

[PlietscherDassel]

The Leafs defence will improve markedly when the Leaf forwards stop blowing the zone early, start paying closer attention to their assignments, not get caught deep, support the D properly on pinches and when the D challenges the opposition forwards on zone entries, and can win a board battle or 2. Not to mention being on the right side of the puck more often.

None of that is on the D, and you could get the 6 best D-men in the league playing for the Leafs, but the issues will remain the same.

It may not be the sexy answer, but it is the one that will bring the most success at the cheapest price.

Absolutely agree. Team defense is our main problem and we should figure it out before making big moves that might really hurt is in 3-5 years.
I think losing JVR and Bozak to free-agency and replacing them with defensively responsible players will be an important first step. They are not the only players missing assignments, but most of the other forwards that are struggling in that regard are still young and developing. Nylander, Marner and even Matthews are still very inconsistent defensively. However, Matthews has already shown that he can be very good defensively and Marner as well as Nylander are improving. Bozak and JVR, while being very good at other things, are what they are.

 

[griffon1]

Our big needs are a top Dman like Doughty and a power winger like Benn to knock Hyman down to the fourth. And yes I know those two are a pipe dream.
Unfortunately I think we're not shopping in the right store, and we'll end up giving away picks and prospects for a couple of gudpros to make Babcock smile for the first time.

 

[al secord]

We stupid. Stupid dope son!

 

[BodaciousBeefBazooka]

Who? Reilly/gards is a 2/3 at best. Leaf fans please stop overrating your teams players

I'm a leafs fan but I agree completely

 

[ToneDog]

If the question is "Are the Leafs stupid not to get a 1D?". Answer is no. Do they have one? No. Can they use one? Not many teams can't. Can they win without one? Most likely. Should they get one? Sure if the price is right.

Our D is average defensively. Gards and Z make too many bad decisions. I think they call it puck management (what you do with the puck when you get it). Dermott is projecting to be our best defensive/reliable dman of the group which is good and bad. Good that we have him and bad if you think where our D would be without him

 

[Spirit of 67]

We have a gaping whole in the lineup, yeah I love Rielly but our blueline is still thin given Tanev, Karlsson, OEL and McDonagh are to some degree out there this deadline and up coming draft should it be imperative to land one?

Is this the kind of window you look back on and question why didn't you pull the trigger.

Even take a run at John Carlson as a UFA or a Trouba deal in July

To that end I'm ok with flipping JVR and/or Bozak for picks as ammo for a July deal.

-edit- Liljegren is off the table IMO, I'm a fanboy for Ryan Merkley so this thread is me questioning my blind faith in the draft, by all means bash my opinion looking for diverse hot takes and such.

Sounds like the Leafs plan isn't to have one of those big alpha dog defenders that eat up a lot of mintues and cap space. Their plan is to load up on 2's, 3's and 4's as much as possible to keep the costs down. Allowing us to pay forwards to score goals.
So no. Don't chase. If a good deal comes up, jump on it. But we don't want to get into bidding wars and such.