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The Toronto Maple Leafs faced an offseason with key players entering free agency and not a great deal of space under the salary cap to either re-sign or replace them. GM Kyle Dubas was not in a position to bid for big names on July 28, but needed to replace big contributors like Frederik Andersen and Zach Hyman.
An area of constant transition over the last few years has been the blueline, but after an excellent season, the changes on the Toronto defense thus far have been limited to veteran Zach Bogosian returning to Tampa Bay. The Leafs protected four defensemen (Morgan Rielly, Justin Holl, Jake Muzzin and TJ Brodie) in the expansion draft and dodged losing Travis Dermott.
GM Kyle Dubas indicated after the outset of free agency that he was still looking for someone with experience to replace Bogosian as some insurance on the bottom pairing and to kill penalties, and unsigned free agents like Erik Gudbranson, Ben Hutton and Zdeno Chara could be options they explore.
The top two pairings will be the same going into training camp, with Brodie and Rielly, and Muzzin and Holl eating up 20+ minutes on most nights. Unlike previous seasons, where Dubas has added a European free agent to challenge for a spot, this year it appears that the bottom pairing will be a competition between Dermott and first-rounders Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren.
Sandin was pressed into duty and the 21-year-old showed flashes of the potential that has him ranked as the club’s top prospect, but also displayed some growing pains in the playoffs. Liljegren put up another good season in the American Hockey League, but the club’s methodical development of the 22-year-old has raised questions of how sold they are on his prospects as an NHLer.
Toronto has to find out what they have internally on the blueline, as Rielly is entering the final year of his contract. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun indicated earlier this summer that the Leafs want to extend Rielly, but that may depend on him taking a less to remain in Toronto.
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Lot’s of â¤ï¸ for the 💙ðŸ¤
— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) April 26, 2021
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