Friday, July 28, 2017

Leafs — Decision Time

Everyone but the kitchen sink knows the Leafs will be shipping Bozak or JVR.  The most obvious choice is Pit for Bozak. The Penns have plenty of young prospects on the defense for the Leafs to chose from.

The name we keep hearing from the Penns in the Bozar rumors is Olli Maatta. Olli is a young dman who has tons of potential. Olli is a solid defenceman who can help with the defensive leak.

What leak? Let me show you my thinking. The Leafs are in dire straights for defencemen. Especially all around one, who chips in with the odd goal. The Leafs lost too many close games down the stretch. The Maple Leafs have to address the defensive breakdowns. There are too many scoring chances in the defensive zone.

They need a veteran dman who can settle things down. The Leafs' lack of leadership in the defense lead to much panicking; i.e. running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

I would go far as picking up two defencemen; one defensive stay-home, and one puck-mover. Their main obstacle is 50 contracts, which are the maximum number of contracts allowed. Then there is the simple issue of cap relief.  

So there is some work to be done. Lots of maneuvering of moving bodies to make the cap work and the number of contracts. Expect the Leafs to be making some moves. That is vital for them to take the next step to becoming a contender.

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