Bad trade for the leafs

All these Leaf fans robbing St Louis, "How about we do a bold move for both side.".....proceeds to absolutely obliterate TO.

Rielly is better than Parayko
Johnsson and Kerfoot are worth more than both Allen and Barbashev. This is a horribly 1 sided trade.

Is Reilly really better than Parayko? I mean Reilly is top-5 offensively, but is truly awful defensively whereas Parayko is top-5 defensively and slightly below average offensively. You could make the argument and it really depends on what you value, but it’s not black and white at all. But yeah, the Leafs wouldn’t do this trade.

Honestly now that I think about it Rielly and Parayko are closer than people think. Parayko is just probably Top 3 in Defense (might be a little lower but I can only think Slavin and I’m slipping on the other guy ???) but Allen sucks and Barbashev is 3C at best Kerfoot could get up to around a 2C and Johnson is around a 2nd Line right now. I know Toronto has a need for a backup but not at that cost.

He is not awful defensively. Rielly is fantastic but was, like the rest of the team, using a system that absolutely didn't work. So many times where Rielly was blamed for bad defence was when he went to get the puck behind the net or the corner and someone went to the slot and the other team scored. That isn't Rielly's fault, that is the system's fault because there was no support. Keefe's system protects the high danger areas and has the whole team playing as a cohesive 5 man unit. Rielly is good defensively, and he's one of the best puck movers in the NHL and his skating is next level. He is better than Parayko. He's a better skater, a better puck handler, has way more offensive ability and is still going to get better.

Now please don't take this as me saying Parayko isn't terrific he absolutely is, he'd be the 2nd best defender in TO I'd wager, but he is still not at the level of Rielly. I think in 3 months, no one is going to think Parayko is equal to Rielly. I know it was only Detroit last night but they had a 20-4 advantage in high danger scoring chances and since Keefe has come in, they've been a positive team in the possession realm in every game and dominant in 2 of those games. They were a little bit better at 5v5 against Colorado and they are a legit cup contender.

I don't want to sound like I don't appreciate Parayko. He is an absolute beast and I'd take him in a heart beat. I just don't think the cost is something I'd be willing to pay. To get Parayko I think it would have to include one of Marner or Nylander, whatever else is involved is not something I want to discuss but to get Parayko its going to cost one of those guys and I wouldn't really want to do that move at this time. Mainly because I think the "TO's defence is garbage." mentality is incorrect. I think their system was a joke and Keefe is fixing that, and I really think the goals against for TO is going to drop a bunch.

He’s been pretty bad most of his career though. Even last year his defensive numbers weren’t pretty at all.

He had Ron Hainsey as a partner. He's never had a decent partner and that has hurt him defensively. On top of that, the system wasn't working. He for sure isn't as good defensively as Parayko but he isn't terrible defensively, he's pretty good but needs to be in a system that emphasizes a cohesive 5 man unit. Plus he's been hurt this season and I think that has had an impact.

I started out just doing either kerfoot or Johnsson with Rielly for Barbashev and Parayko. Added both and Allen to make total cap closer to each other. Barbashev and Parayko are absolutely better for what Toronto needs than Rielly and Kerfoot. Im a Leafs fan and a Muzzin Parayko top pairing is 100 times better than any pairing the Leafs have had on D in 20 years

Parayko has had Bouwmeester as his partner most of his career and consistently does better defensively. When Bouwmeester is a defensive liability.

Maybe add Pietrangelo and Schenn to the deal

Here’s my opinion on that. Until we see more than a small few games sample size of Keefe I think Parayko is still probably pretty close to Rielly. And after the last few months Parayko was better because of the system. Now I will give Rielly a benefit of the doubt based on the system failing. But Parayko has done better than what Rielly can do defensively. Rielly is shown as a defensive liability on multiple charts and Parayko does not. Rielly is elite on offense, and Parayko is probably actually a little below average or maybe around average.

Bouwmeester even now, is still 1000% better than Hainsey, he's probably still better than Ceci. Bus really I don't want to take anything away from Parayko, he's terrific. He's just not as good as Rielly overall.

Bouwmeester is worse at defense than Hainsey is tho so it’s more of a give or take.

Add to it or put in place of? I’d take Parayko over Pietrangelo because he’s younger,cheaper, and still has term. No way the Blues give up Schenn for one or both middle 6 wingers. ( I know Kerfoot is technically a centre, but anybody that actually watches him play can see he’s better suited for the wing.)

I know people like to use shot heat maps to prove how bad defensively Rielly is, but that is such wrong way to look at things. Rielly and the rest of the Leafs constantly got burned by chasing the puck away from the net and the centre not rotating down to defend the slot. That was a system thing. Babs wanted the points covered so you had 2 wingers hanging around the blue line and that often left the middle of the ice pretty open. So you'd see Rielly go after a guy in the corner or behind the net and then someone would slide in front and get a grade A chance and score. That doesn't happen in the new system. They protect the front of the net and defend as a 5 man unit. Why Babs thought his system would work is beyond me, but Rielly is definitely an amazing player. He's so good with the puck and his skating is elite. Yeah he takes chances and sometimes that'll burn him but the benefits far outweigh the negatives.

Hainsey just sucks man. He's so slow now and could never get back and recover whenever anything went wrong. He was just terrible in the role Babs put him in. Rielly played almost the entire year like he had a pylon for a partner. This season, its been a combination of bad system, injury and bad luck thats really hurt him. I think Keefe's plan of holding onto the puck, is absolutely perfect for Rielly. I think he's for sure a top 5 puck rushing defender. Maybe top 3.

I love Rielly and am no way saying I’d want to see him moved out. However I think to realistically get a defender like Parayko the Leafs have to give up something back. Parayko is so good in his own end that I would trade any one of our defensemen for him and just feel Rielly is who it would take. With Muzzin, Dermott, and Sandin being left side guys I could live with losing Rielly of it meant bringing in a Parayko

Muzzin is FA and is 30. Rielly is going to be a Norris finalist one of these days, if you have one of those, you don't trade it. Rielly is better than all out other defenders and its not close.

I think that is a bit overboard. He won’t be a Norris Winner. I don’t think he is that type of player.

5th in votes last season and he is absolutely that good of a player. Give him a real partner and a system that doesn't hang everyone out to dry all the time and Rielly is one of the best defenceman on the planet. I don't care what anyone says, he is absolutely that good. He also elevates his game when he needs to. He's a beast.

Real partner or not 5th place is not as close as you think. If he was Top 3 then we are talking.

He should have been a finalist, I thought it was a complete joke he didn't get more votes. But Rielly is also one of my favorite players so obviously I have a bias. He is still only 25 and I think a lot of people don't realize that.

In a young mans league the peak has shown to drop in age to 23 as your Peak.

For forwards, that is when they usually enter their prime and for defenceman its about a year later. Rielly is terrific. So is Parayko. These teams won't make a blockbuster. I'd be shocked if they did.