"While we don't particularly enjoy thinking about the Leafs parting ways with someone who has been a joy to watch hit unsuspecting forwards as hard as possible, it might just come down to a numbers game. As The Athletic's James Mirtle wrote in a recent mailbag, the Leafs are looking for more of a puck-moving presence on the blue line and that should then result in them moving on from one of the more defensively minded defensemen."
"Part of the reason they got hemmed in against the Panthers in the playoffs was their inability to handle Florida's forecheck, and that comes back to the Leafs' struggles breaking out, moving the puck and maintaining pressure in the offensive zone. Treliving and Berube have to solve that somehow, or they'll just be hoping to get luckier next spring."
The Maple Leafs seek to upgrade their blue line by adding a puck-moving defenseman and could move a defensively oriented blueliner like Simon Benoit. The current defensive group includes Chris Tanev, Jake McCabe, Morgan Rielly, Carlo, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Benoit, with Benoit the youngest and only one without trade protection. Playoff problems against the Panthers exposed difficulties handling strong forechecks, breaking out, moving the puck and sustaining offensive pressure. Management faces roster and cap decisions to create more forward momentum from the backend and address breakout deficiencies before next season.
Read at Editor In Leaf
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