News Article: The 2020 Defense.

[Wafflewhipper]

Defence-corps factors that can result in an improved Leafs team next season | Toronto Sun

Lots of things that need to shake out come training camp with our defense. Just though it would be convenient to talk defense in one thread.

Goaltending: Leafs' fortunes next season need a boost from a return to form by Andersen | Toronto Sun
Best tandem in years with Freddy/Jack that could be really good if this defense shows slight improvement. Between the defense upgrades and the upgrade Campbell brought last season it doesn’t seem like a stretch to possibly see a better defensive team. We’ll have to see how this translates to our GF/GA differential.

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[Wafflewhipper]

Rielly needs to get back to form this year. Ceci/Barrie replaced by Brodie/Bogosian seems a upgrade in itself towards style of play. Lehtonen factor is unknown until we see it but he is dominant in the KHL which seems positive.
So much to learn on what this will look like. I probably like the addition of Bogosian more than most. I pick Bogosian to be best surprise of the season for the character things he will bring.

Looking over stats of defensemen that have played with us last four years it’s hard not to notice that the amount of shots we take is very under utilized. Our defense doesn’t shoot very much. That aspect changing with the style of play moving to some net front presence would certainly help going forward.

 

[TML Dynasty]

Reilly will be healthy and finally have a partner that will let him find his potential. Muzzin is a rock. Lehtonen will surprise us and jump top 4 right away, leaving Dermott/Bogo/Holl as a solid 3rd pairing.

 

[DarkKnight]

Having a Brodie, who can play in all situations, versus having a Barrie, who was sheltered in all situations, you can’t understate how much more flexibility it gives Keefe.

 

[A1LeafNation]

Ceci was forced into the top 4 role because Barrie couldn't play defence and Holl barely could as a rookie.

Rielly Brodie
Muzzin Holl
Dermott Bogosian

Sandin Liljegren Lehtonen out to take jobs now that they all have experience playing at a high level, so the potential is there for this defence to be pretty good.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Having a Brodie, who can play in all situations, versus having a Barrie, who was sheltered in all situations, you can’t understate how much more flexibility it gives Keefe.

Brodie didn’t shoot the puck enough last season also. Maybe playing with Rielly gets him shooting more too. I hope so. I think our offense runs in a way that under utilized our defense.

 

[Mess]

I'm fairly comfortable thinking the move from Barrie/Ceci & replaced by Brodie/Bogosian is a positive move to address better "defensively" and "physically".

The wild card that really could be the difference maker is Mikko Lehtonen if he works out, and I'm hoping he can play top 4 which pushes Holl down to #6/7 and shares time with Bogosian.

Reilly ------ Brodie
Muzzin ---- Lehtonen
Dermott -- Bogosian/Holl

That is an upgrade if it plays out like that and essentially changes our entire right side from last year.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

I fairly comfortable thinking the move from Barrie/Ceci & replaced by Brodie/Bogosian is a positive move to address better "defensively" and "physically".

The wild card that really could be the difference maker is Mikko Lehtonen if he works out, and I'm hoping he can play top 4 which pushes Holl down to #6/7 and shares time with Bogosian.

Reilly ------ Brodie
Muzzin ---- Lehtonen
Dermott -- Bogosian/Holl

That is an upgrade if it plays out like that.

I see Holl on the outside looking in also. Doesn’t look promising for Sandin and Liljigren in terms of development year either. They likely won’t get in many games if the Ahl doesn’t go. This could basically be a move from Holl to Bogosian also. Holl has the burden oftrying to get pkaying time as the highest contract past the top 4. I wouldn’t be surprised they move him. He will be exposed in expansion draft almost guaranteed anyways

 

[Wafflewhipper]

It’s going to be interesting to read this thread as it progresses. Cap will dictate who plays.

 

[Mickey Marner]

It's nice to have options on the right side for once.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Let's not forget too many of or forwards didn't get the job done with their two-way play. I think it will be different this year. Better D, better two-way players and someone who won't ride Freddie until he's dead tired

 

[ITM]

I'm fairly comfortable thinking the move from Barrie/Ceci & replaced by Brodie/Bogosian is a positive move to address better "defensively" and "physically".

The wild card that really could be the difference maker is Mikko Lehtonen if he works out, and I'm hoping he can play top 4 which pushes Holl down to #6/7 and shares time with Bogosian.

Reilly ------ Brodie
Muzzin ---- Lehtonen
Dermott -- Bogosian/Holl

That is an upgrade if it plays out like that and essentially changes our entire right side from last year.

I can live with it if all IFS pan out. If Reilly returns. If Brodie offsets MR. Kind of raises questions though if Reilly needs more of a Bogosian type. If Lehtonen translates. Lord, I hope he's our d-man equivalent of Panarin. That type of find.

Hoping the young Swedes take a step forward.

Call me skeptical re: Dermott, but perhaps as a #5 with a green light, Bogosian/Holl holding things down, it becomes a viable model.

Don't mind that top four at all.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

I can live with it if all IFS pan out. If Reilly returns. If Brodie offsets MR. Kind of raises questions though if Reilly needs more of a Bogosian type. If Lehtonen translates. Lord, I hope he's our d-man equivalent of Panarin. That type of find.

Hoping the young Swedes take a step forward.

Call me skeptical re: Dermott, but perhaps as a #5 with a green light, Bogosian/Holl holding things down, it becomes a viable model.

Don't mind that top four at all.

I though about Bogosian/Muzzin being the defensive heavy crease clearing types for Rielly/Brodie also. Then Dermott with Lehtonen as a third pair. Lehtonen is a real wildcard in this.

 

[Buds17]

Having Campbell in tow from the start should help the goaltending. He has put forth a quality workload for a backup over the past couple of seasons. The blueline is deeper now to better safeguard against injuries that hampered last season's efforts. At this point, I'm not even fully certain of the entire top six on opening night. We'll see if that depth can be kept together, in the event of cap or roster constraints.

 

[Mess]

I see Holl on the outside looking in also. Doesn’t look promising for Sandin and Liljigren in terms of development year either. They likely won’t get in many games if the Ahl doesn’t go. This could basically be a move from Holl to Bogosian also. Holl has the burden of trying to get playing time as the highest contract past the top 4. I wouldn’t be surprised they move him. He will be exposed in expansion draft almost guaranteed anyways

If Bogosian and Holl are our #6/7 on a rotation basis and Holl goes from #4 last year to pressbox #7 and no question he will be exposed in the expansion draft.

 

[ULF_55]

I'm fairly comfortable thinking the move from Barrie/Ceci & replaced by Brodie/Bogosian is a positive move to address better "defensively" and "physically".

The wild card that really could be the difference maker is Mikko Lehtonen if he works out, and I'm hoping he can play top 4 which pushes Holl down to #6/7 and shares time with Bogosian.

Reilly ------ Brodie
Muzzin ---- Lehtonen
Dermott -- Bogosian/Holl

That is an upgrade if it plays out like that and essentially changes our entire right side from last year.

Defense
At this point we know Bogosian and Muzzin both know what winning takes.

Rielly, Brodie have to learn the same thing.

Top 4 I'd be okay:
Rielly-Brodie/Bogosian
Muzzin-Brodie/Bogosian

3rd. pair is going to be a battle between everyone, Dermott, Lehtonen, Holl, Sandin, Liljegren, and "where the heck did he come from".

Goaltending
Certainly, the goaltending should be better, with the back-up being dropped two spots back in the depth chart:
Andersen, Campbell, Dell, Hutchinson.

 

[Throw More Waffles]

I'm assuming we all learned last year that it's very difficult to judge our D on paper. Just look at what we were all saying in the offseason last year about how much Barrie brings to the team.
What does Barrie bring to the Leafs?

Favourite quotes. "Our best rhd since Larry Murphy and possibly beyond"
"Sounds like Kadri did us a favor by nixing the trade with Calgary."
"Barrie is a better fit than Brodie"
"In a short simple answer he plays Babs system" (lol)
"Barrie is like Wayne Gretzky, only better" (Ok... the guy that posted that was being sarcastic)

Unsurprisingly, Mess had the most rational and realistic take.

 

[Stephen]

I think the largest jump in performance will have to come from Rielly regaining his 2018 form and Lehtonen being a dark horse impact player for us. I'm appreciative of Brodie's potential to stabilize things, but I'm also not sold on him being a particularly high impact defenseman that screams upgrade. Hoping he plays a more reliable and quieter game than Barrie, but beyond that, are we just pumping his tires?

Bogosian is a great backfill piece and I hope he can be a player you can play higher in the lineup when the opportunity arises. Dermott needs to take some big steps forward, and if Sandin or Liljegren can forcefully take a job we will be way better off. Muzzin will be Muzzin. Holl could regress or be the same thing he was last year.

 

[ToneDog]

I'm assuming we all learned last year that it's very difficult to judge our D on paper. Just look at what we were all saying in the offseason last year about how much Barrie brings to the team.
What does Barrie bring to the Leafs?

Favourite quotes. "Our best rhd since Larry Murphy and possibly beyond"
"Sounds like Kadri did us a favor by nixing the trade with Calgary."
"Barrie is a better fit than Brodie"
"In a short simple answer he plays Babs system" (lol)
"Barrie is like Wayne Gretzky, only better" (Ok... the guy that posted that was being sarcastic)

Unsurprisingly, Mess had the most rational and realistic take.

Unfortunately what Barrie was supposed to bring to the Leafs was left in Colorado. Will be interesting to see if he went back and packed it for Edmonton.

 

[Mess]

I'm assuming we all learned last year that it's very difficult to judge our D on paper. Just look at what we were all saying in the offseason last year about how much Barrie brings to the team.
What does Barrie bring to the Leafs?

Unsurprisingly, Mess had the most rational and realistic take.

Tyson Barrie played for my Kelowna Rockets so based on that how can you not like him?. However he was a high scoring Bantam/Minor midget Forward when drafted into the CHL that was turned into a Dman at the WHL level and so as a season ticket holder have seen him play 100's of times in action in person. So I've always seen him as a "Rover" and more high risk defensively as a result as his tendencies are to push or lead the offense up the ice. Leafs defense was going to take a hit and the goals against was going to go up and so Barrie was going to moved down the roster to shelter him defensively.

The Leafs swapping Barrie out and TJ Brodie in, even though Brodie is not a right shot and playing on his weak side this is a big upgrade defensively and he is a shot suppressor and going to be able to count on him positionally in his own end. I'm hoping that Reilly and him form a reliable D pairing together and it allows Mo Reils to excel offensively knowing his D partner has his back defensively.

 

[The Iceman]

I'm fairly comfortable thinking the move from Barrie/Ceci & replaced by Brodie/Bogosian is a positive move to address better "defensively" and "physically".

The wild card that really could be the difference maker is Mikko Lehtonen if he works out, and I'm hoping he can play top 4 which pushes Holl down to #6/7 and shares time with Bogosian.

Reilly ------ Brodie
Muzzin ---- Lehtonen
Dermott -- Bogosian/Holl

That is an upgrade if it plays out like that and essentially changes our entire right side from last year.

I agree with your depth chart but I still think our roster is under condtruction. The team needs a shutdown pairing to play top 4. Muzz is 1/2 of this but I still think we need to now get Muzz a partner to lock down the other teams top guys.

 

[crump]

PK was 21st last year. Who is going to be our Shutdown guys now?

Muzzin. Brodie
Rielly. Bogosian???

I am impressed with how Brodie blocks shots and has a great stick in the D zone. Not too physical, but if paired with Muzzin on the PK I think it might be a good pairing.

 

[IPS]

I agree with your depth chart but I still think our roster is under condtruction. The team needs a shutdown pairing to play top 4. Muzz is 1/2 of this but I still think we need to now get Muzz a partner to lock down the other teams top guys.

Brodie has loads of experience playing against team's best forwards. Pair him with Muzzin and it could be a great shutdown pair.

The partner for Rielly still remains unkown though.

 

[67Cup]

I don’t think the Leafs’ defensive problems have been solely due to the personnel on the blueline. I think it is also due to a lack of defensive commitment and discipline by the forwards. There is good reason to hope the blueline corps will be improved this season, IMO. Not all the “ifs” will turn out as we hope, but the Leafs only need some of them to work in order to improve. That’s not an unreasonable hope. But the forwards still have to do their part.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Unfortunately what Barrie was supposed to bring to the Leafs was left in Colorado. Will be interesting to see if he went back and packed it for Edmonton.

Barrie was partially nullified by the way the Leafs set things up in the offensive zone possibly. Shots from our defense is really low. Muzzin comes and his shots go down by a mile too. Is it the way they set up in the offensive zone that is against our defense taking many shots. Probably is seeing we have little net front presence. Not sure why our defense doesn’t shoot enough