Leafs' Latest Moves Could Place Them Among Stanley Cup Favorites Next Season
By Brendan Azoff
With little cap room to maneuver with this offseason, many thought the Leafs would have to make significant cuts in order to retain the services of coveted restricted free agent Mitch Marner. But after striking gold with a trade late Monday with the Colorado Avalanche after already swapping Nikita Zaitsev for Cody Ceci, Toronto has put themselves in a prime position to contend for the Stanley Cup next season.
An NHL GM on Toronto’s moves: “They had to dip into their forward depth to improve their D, but this is a home run. They’re still loaded at centre and their blue line is way better. Now they’ve got cap space to sign their RFAs and they’re a legit contender with this defence.”
— Gord Miller (@GMillerTSN) July 2, 2019
Toronto's weakness has been their defensive corps for the last few seasons, but the Avs deal -- they sent Nazem Kadri, Calle Rosen, and a 2020 third-round pick to Colorado for Alex Kerfoot, and a 2020 sixth-rounder, and Tyson Barrie -- their back end has become much more formidable over the past 48 hours.
By putting their embarrassment of offensive riches to work by moving Kadri, the Leafs were able to acquire a stud defenseman in Barrie to fill a much-needed vacancy on the right side of their top defensive pairing.
Just when you thought the @MapleLeafs couldn't get any better... They do just that and solidify their back end. Now, just sign @Marner93 to that big ticket and they're laughing ?
— GONGSHOW® (@GongshowGear) July 2, 2019
?: @DailyFaceoff pic.twitter.com/OPVZ5mTdzy
Now, the Maple Leafs' lineup looks virtually impenetrable with their stars up front as well as on defense, to say nothing of solid goaltender Frederik Andersen. Without adding free agents, the Leafs have managed to have an already successful offseason, and their newly improved defense may be the extra jolt this roster needs to finally make it over the hump.