Analyst Warns Maple Leafs May Be Overlooking Their Biggest Weakness
Photo credit: Andrew Francis Wallace - Toronto Star
NHL analyst Pierre McGuire was a guest on Toronto Sports Rush recently and exclaimed that the Maple Leafs might still be overlooking a key weakness in the lineup.
With all the discussion about a top-six forward coming into the fray, the Toronto Maple Leafs could also use a bit of a boost when it comes to their offense on the back end.
Besides Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, the Leafs lack a true playmaker on the blueline and it can be a concern at times given that regardless of how good the rest of your team is up front; you need that defender who can kickstart the transition offense in the blink of an eye.
They were linked to some bigger names like Bowen Byram, Erik Karlsson and Dougie Hamilton, and could have used a player like Noah Dobson until he was traded to the rival Canadiens, and it's clear it's an issue that will get worse before it gets better.
Toronto's Blue Line Could Still Be the Achilles' Heel: Analyst
That's why NHL analyst and former GM Pierre McGuire believes that if the team doesn't adjust their focus and add a puck-mover; it could be hugely detrimental.
A guest on Toronto Sports Rush, McGuire explained that Toronto needs someone to give Rielly a break from the bulk of the offensive load, as well as someone who can help them adjust from their five-man PP unit:
I'd love to see them try to make one upgrade in terms of a puck-moving defenseman.
One of the things they did this summer, they brought in Henry Thrun. I think Henry Thrun is a very useful player; Henry's a really good puck mover, but he's a depth puck mover. He's not a top-four puck mover.
I think if they ever could add one of those and take some pressure off of, let's say, Morgan Rielly in the power play, I think that would help them. I would be trying to gauge and focus in on a power play defenseman.
Think about it: last year, they went five forwards on their first power play in Toronto, and Mitchell Marner is not there anymore. He was the guy running the power play.
So, I think that would be something that I'd be looking for if I were a Brad Treliving and the Toronto Maple Leafs is a puck-moving, elite offensive-type defenseman.
One of the things they did this summer, they brought in Henry Thrun. I think Henry Thrun is a very useful player; Henry's a really good puck mover, but he's a depth puck mover. He's not a top-four puck mover.
I think if they ever could add one of those and take some pressure off of, let's say, Morgan Rielly in the power play, I think that would help them. I would be trying to gauge and focus in on a power play defenseman.
Think about it: last year, they went five forwards on their first power play in Toronto, and Mitchell Marner is not there anymore. He was the guy running the power play.
So, I think that would be something that I'd be looking for if I were a Brad Treliving and the Toronto Maple Leafs is a puck-moving, elite offensive-type defenseman.
So is it truly that important that Brad Treliving brings in a proper puck mover on the back end?
Why It Matters: Leafs Risk Wasting Prime Years of Matthews and Nylander
If they want to make sure they maximize the best years of Auston Matthews and William Nylander's careers, then giving them someone who can actually help facilitate their offense is going to only benefit them.
Matthews doesn't have Marner to feed him passes now, and Nylander could always use a bit more assistance besides John Tavares. They are both in their prime firmly, and with their window to win only a few years; it's best to get them help now than towards the end.
It does involve mortgaging their future, and no doubt they would need to include someone with a lot of potential, and perhaps this is the end of the Nick Robertson experiment, and he along with Ben Danford and maybe their last first-rounder is enough to bring in someone.
Plus, their youth puck movers are William Villeneuve and Victor Johansson; the former is on the cusp of making it but is blocked by several others with NHL experience and the latter is several years away although is showing some serious progress.
The time is now for the Maple Leafs to act, and to have a proper catalyst on the back end is crucial for any team to succeed, but especially Toronto.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 19 | 1317 ANSWERS Analyst Warns Maple Leafs May Be Overlooking Their Biggest Weakness Do you think Pierre McGuire is correct in believing the Leafs need to add a puck-moving defenseman? | ||
| Yes | 1048 | 79.6 % |
| No | 269 | 20.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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