If I were Leafs GM Brad Treliving, getting into the top 4 blue stripes this summer would be high on my priority list.
I’d like to put some urgency on it, too.
And knowing Treliving’s track record, there’s probably a good chance something will come up over the next few weeks.
Over the past week, the Columbus Blue Jackets kicked off the offseason party with the arrests of both Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson on separate deals. Bottom line, Jarmo Kekalainen and company don’t mess around. They wanted to upgrade their blue line, and they did just that.
Meanwhile, if there’s one thing to be learned from this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, it’s that you can never get deep enough in the background. Having said that, Vegas and Florida both have a depth of top 4. There is a difference.
In Toronto, goalkeeping always seems to be the hot conversation, but what about the blue line? As it is currently built, is it good enough to win?
For starters, I’m totally underwhelmed with Luke Shin’s return. Besides, it was unfortunate to see Mark Giordano go down the way he did. Overall, I thought he had a really solid regular season. Whichever way you slice it, managing loads should be a thing with the 40-year-old next season. They need to keep it fresh in the playoffs. As for Jake McCabe, he came pretty much as announced to Toronto after his trade deadline from Chicago. He brought some bite, and the leaves desperately need that.
Plus, I think it’s time for Timothy Lillegren to take a break. Unfortunately, the inconsistency still plagued the 24-year-old. He needs to take a step in the right direction soon, or it might be time to move on. It’s that easy.
So, that leaves Morgan Rielly and TJ Brodie. Personally, the former made me forget all about his difficult regular season with his outstanding performance in the postseason. It was amazing. As for Brody, he’s had his moments, but for the most part, he’s had a down year. To be fair, both players have dealt with nagging injuries this season, so that’s important to consider as well.
Undoubtedly, in order to strengthen their D Corps, Leafs will have to get creative.
I know some ways they can do that.