Leafs GM Dubas Has Set Up Toronto’s Defense For Now — And The Future

Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas addressed his team’s major needs in this current regular season before the NHL’s March 3 trade deadline, but like all good GMs, he’s also positioned his team to be in a better spot in the seasons to come. And nowhere is that more apparent than on defense. Toronto’s group of blueliners doesn’t have a bona fide No. 1 D-man – and not many teams do – but he has created a group of defensemen that will stay together at least for next season.

Of course, that’s a statement predicated on the Leafs winning a playoff round or two this year. If the Buds go out meekly, or go out at all in the first round, all bets are off for a good deal of their roster. But if Toronto does make progress, next season’s group of defensemen are pretty much in place.

For starters, veterans Morgan Rielly and T.J. Brodie will return in Blue and White. Trade deadline acquisition Jake McCabe is also a lock to be back, as his salary cap hit is a very affordable $2 million. And although he’s been a healthy scratch more than he ought to have been of late, youngster Timothy Liljegren is signed through next season at just a $1.4 million annual salary. Greybeard Mark Giorano is also under contract through the 2023-24 campaign, at only $800,000 – and depth defender Connor Timmins is signed through the next two years at $1.1 million per season. In total, as per Cap Friendly, the Leafs are committed to $17.8 million for six defensemen.

That’s a fairly great value, especially when you consider that Toronto will have to give goaltender Ilya Samsonov, an unrestricted free agent this coming off-season, a decent raise on the $1.8 million salary he’s making this year. The Leafs also have five UFA forwards to deal with this summer, including winger Michael Bunting and trade deadline acquisitions Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciardi, and Dubas will need every bit of cap space – whether or not there’s a slight bump up in the cap ceiling – to have a shot at bringing back at least a couple of those UFAs.

We’re still of the firm opinion that, because of Toronto’s cap crunch, there’s virtually no chance whatsoever that pending UFA veterans Alex Kerfoot (and his $3.5 million cap hit) and D-man Justin Holl (who is making $2 million this season) will return to the Leafs, and you can probably put pending UFA center David Kampf (earning $1.5 million) into that group, too. That trio’s combined cap hit of $7 million can be better spread out among the likes of Bunting, O’Reilly, Acciari and Samsonov. But because Dubas has solidified Toronto’s depth on the back end, that’s a much more likely scenario than it was before the Leafs made a slew of trades.

Again, if the Buds lay an egg in the coming post-season, Dubas is going to be under major pressure to make significant changes to the roster. But let’s be real here: he’s not moving superstars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner; he’s not going to be trading winger William Nylander, whose game has elevated to new heights this year; and he’s not going to find a taker for captain John Tavares and his $11 million cap hit. In essence, the core-four forwards are going to remain in place.

Around Full Press Hockey

NHL: Four Crucial Areas For Maple Leafs The Rest Of This Regular Season

NHL Rumors: NHL Rumors: New Jersey Devils Trade Targets

NHL: NHL All Star Game Thoughts and Possible Changes

NFL: What Eddie Robinson Told Doug Williams After He Made History 35 Years Ago

Full Press Bets: Early 2022 NFL MVP Odds: Bills’ Josh Allen Favored

PODCAST: Full Press Hockey Weekly Ep 45: Canucks, Islanders, and The Boston Bruins

But as for the defense, Dubas has established Toronto’s foundation for now and for down the line. Trade deadline additions on the blue line, veterans Luke Schenn and Erik Gustafsson, probably won’t be back, and injured veteran Jake Muzzin may never play another NHL game. Yet they’ve got six defensemen in place right now, and that’s a luxury many NHL organizations cannot boast of.

It might all go sideways in the coming few months, but Dubas and the Leafs have enough options ready and signed through next season to continue to be a high-octane regular-season group. Like him or not, Dubas deserves credit for his skills juggling the franchise’s present-day concerns and his vision for the future.