The problem you, OP, and others have is that you relate defensive prowess to ONLY the teams defensemen, when the forwards are just as much responsible for helping keep the puck out of the back of our net.
Here’s an interesting chart originally posted by
@biotk regarding possession and zone exits over the past two seasons. Notice how a lot of outgoing players were absolutely horrific at getting the puck out, meaning that the Leafs were hemmed in their own zone for longer and having to deal with longer cycles by the opposition. Christ looking at the names in red it seems our entire bottom 6 was prone to getting hemmed in. These numbers all jive with the eye test as well. Leafs fans have ragged on Bozak and JVR’s lack of defensive acumen for years.
Tavares | 96 |
Ennis | 89 |
Nylander | 80 |
Matthews | 67 |
Kadri | 66 |
Marner | 62 |
Jooris | 57 |
Brown | 52 |
Hyman | 51 |
Moore | 42 |
Kapanen | 39 |
Marleau | 25 |
Bozak | 25 |
Plek | 21 |
JVR | 19 |
Komarov | 18 |
Martin | 18 |
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Conversely, the players we’ve brought in are excellent at exiting the Leafs zone with the puck. The stress relief for our defensemen and goaltending this will provide will be huge. This should hopefully translate to less time in the defensive zone and fewer shots given up.
As for actual names on defence, there’s a lot of unknowns and room for growth. Rielly is still developing as a capable #1D, Dermott will also grow after his rookie season. A lot of Leafs fans have soured on Zaitsev but he was an NHL sophomore last year and dealt with many injuries and off ice issues, he should rebound with a healthy year. There’s also the Russian free agent we signed in Ozhiganov who’s replacing Polak. He’ll be a “rookie” himself but he should be able to adequately replace Polak. He’s younger and has been shown to throw punishing hits so he’ll also replace Polaks outgoing physicality.
This doesn’t even include the prospects on the right side, Liljegren obviously being the most known one. Carrick and Holl while not as big of names could win the bottom pairing spot and fill those minutes. Leafs also have most of their picks in the next few drafts, if the defence becomes a huge issue like so many speculate (or want) a trade is always on the table. Lest we forget your team (temporarily at least) fixed your defence with trades for Leddy and Boychuk.
The Leafs have their core locked up for years yet. They can afford to be patient and not make a potentially costly mistake like overpaying for a defenseman (Hall for Larsson) or not signing one of the games premier pivots because we have needs elsewhere.