newfy
Registered User
- Jul 28, 2010
- 14,771
- 8,328
In a year's time, Gardiner will be off the books and it just so happens that the Leafs top prospect is a d-man in Liljegren. He looks like he can be Gardiner minus all the brain farts which is actually pretty damn good. The Leafs also have Sandin who was their first rounder last year who looked great in preseason, he might have a shot at a bottom pairing spot next year as well. The Leafs have heavily drafted defensemen over the past 2 years, for this very reason. Having Rielly on a sweet heart deal and your 2 top prospects being ready next year saves them a ton.
Either way, having too many good offensive players is a problem every team would love to have.
You really think Liljegren is going to be able to be like Gardiner but without the defensive lapses? So hes going to be a good defensive dman that can put up 50 points? Thats a number one dman, I wouldnt hold my breath on that until after he scores more than 17 points in the AHL.
Sandin was a 29th overall pick just last year. Youre sure hes going to be ready? How many dman picked that late skip out on their last year of junior to play in the NHL? Not to mention play on a contender? Teams like Tampa and Winnipeg would have a hey day with those guys in the leafs line up next season. Go look up who was picked 4 spots earlier than 29th in 2011
Torontos defense is an issue and if not addressed soon could actually screw up their rebuild and get them in a weird spot. If Toronto wins the cup in the next couple years without changing their defense it will be the worst defense to win since 2006. Theyre obviously in a great spot and have time to do it, but if they dont get that defense figured out before they get into cap issues its going to be a tough situation for them. Hoping that 2 mid to late first rounders pan out immediately after their draft years without much development time and significantly over perform their draft position isnt a good strategy for building a defense