Darren Raddysh coming into the lineup not only solves Toronto's offensive woes, but it gives them a chance to put Brandon Carlo in a much more favourable position.
When the Toronto Maple Leafs woke up on Friday morning they wanted to make sure they gave everyone and early wakeup call as they shocked the hockey world by trading for Darren Raddysh's rights and then signing him to an eight-year, $68-million contract.
It took the top free agent defender off the market and it may have given the Leafs another huge advantage.
Raddysh coming in is going to change the Maple Leafs lineup for the better and it gives them a deadly point threat for the first time in the Auston Matthews era. He's never had a guy who can shoot it like him, and the fact he's a better offensive and defensive player than Morgan Rielly is a huge relief given his contract.
Toronto's trade for Darren Raddysh also opens up the door for Brandon Carlo's resurgence
But it also gave the Maple Leafs an opportunity to maximize their lineup and perhaps get more out of Brandon Carlo than they have.
Carlo gets a lot of flak not only because of his lack of shutdown defence last season, but the fact the Maple Leafs traded Fraser Minten and a first-round pick for him.
That pick is actually the first overall pick this year so Toronto got lucky there, but losing Minten hurts especially when Carlo didn't do all we expected coming from Boston.
But with Raddysh coming in, and Chris Tanev looking like he'll be returning this season - Carlo really has one spot to go.
If the team doesn't end up trading him, they could certainly give him the 3D spot alongside either Oliver Ekman-Larsson or Emil Andrae. We don't know how Toronto is going to make more defensive changes but if Rielly is the only one left to go then this is what we could look at:
Ekman-Larsson - Raddysh
McCabe - Tanev
Andrae - Carlo
That doesn't really give Toronto a lot of balance though, and while breaking up McCabe and Tanev is risky - it looks a lot more balanced like this:
McCabe - Raddysh
Ekman-Larsson - Tanev
Andrae - Carlo
That gives Toronto three lefties and three righties, while making sure each offensive player is protected but a shutdown anchor. Andrae is 24 and needs a little more seasoning so giving him more minutes alongside guy who can protect him against weaker talent will open things up.
Brandon Carlo isn't a bad defenceman, he was just in a bad situation
Carlo only had seven assists this season and while he's not a points machine by any means, he typically does give you 12-15 points and also missed over a month with a foot injury. He was given way too much responsibility beside Morgan Rielly and was looked at as the saviour with Chris Tanev out.
That's a lot to ask from a guy who isn't an elite top pairing defender but someone who is better suited for a 2D/3D position. Carlo will benefit from less responsibility but that doesn't mean less minutes. He's still going to work on the PK, he's still going to be part of a shutdown line when he's out there - he doesn't just get 10 minutes a night.
Last year Craig Berube was a coach who really didn't know how to manage a lineup and kept putting consistently bizarre groupings out there.
He was solid on the PK but at 5v5 it was rough. With him being able to play with a guy who has much better exit rates and transition offense, he won't get trapped in his own end for minutes at a time.
Carlo is also right-handed, cheap at only $3.485-million, and from 2022-24 had 45 points, a plus-69, 360 blocks and 411 hits with the Bruins; he's not bad. He was misused.
Raddysh's ability to play everywhere opens up the chance for Carlo to play a lot more in terms of a more favourable spot. He's going to be a lot more comfortable with Jim Hiller in charge and having someone to watch his back.
There's risks to signing Raddysh but if you look at what he can do for others on the team it's a price worth paying.
Do you think Toronto should trade Brandon Carlo or use him as a 3D?
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