I think we have a log jam in the defense

[Duckrider]

Polock will be back I think if we cant get anyone else on the right side. He played well in the Playoffs and this year he did not have any big injuries at the end of the year so he can focus on getting ready rather than rehabing.

 

[Duke16]

One thing about Dubas that I love is that he is going to put an end to this Polak(and hopefully Hainsey) non-sense.

By far the biggest glaring hole on the team was that our right-side D could not make a play with the puck. This is why Zaitsev bouncing back is massive.

Rielly - Hainsey
Gardiner - Zaitsev
Dermott - Holl
Borgman - Rosen

This is probably what we have penciled in as a starting 8. Carrick will be unqualified and released as a free agent imo. Orzhiganov is a wild card. If the Leafs make a move for a D-man you can almost certainly kiss one of these 8 players goodbye. Gardiner moving for a RD of similar or lesser calibre seems like a possibility with the potential to move Hainsey back to LD and have Rosen and Borgman as options after Dermott.

Dont mean to nitpick, but leaving Carrick unqualified is not something I see Dubas doing. The guy got a 7th for Nolan frickin Vesey. Asset management is really important to him as it should be.

 

[GordieHoweHatTrick]

The Leafs have a log-jam of depth defencemen, not top-4, contend with, type of defencemen