It’s been a running issue since the Leafs traded Cody Franson in 2015, and even before that: when are the Leafs going to get another top-four defenceman that shoots right?
The Leafs are seemingly set on the left side; Morgan Rielly has bloomed into a solidly top-pair defender, while Jake Gardiner, despite a down year, is reliably top four. Travis Dermott and Andreas Borgman are two prospects who have impressed in early third-pair work.
The right side, on the other hand, features:
- Nikita Zaitsev, signed to the longest deal on the team with results that never seem to match his skills
- Connor Carrick, who seems totally distrusted by Mike Babcock and struggles to hold a lineup spot
- Roman Polak, whom Babcock loves for his penalty-killing, but who otherwise seems to be replacement-level or lower
- Igor Ozhiganov, a 25-year old KHL defender the Leafs are allegedly bringing over next year, who we’d be lucky to get more than a 7D out of
That and a couple of faint-hope prospects (Jesper Lindgren and Nicolas Mattinen), and that’s it.