Whatever helps you sleep at night.

I agree

You said it yourself- they are a RD away- so go get one!

I just don't know if that move is available right now.

I would honestly rather go into the season with a roster similar to this one and give Dermott/Lehtonen a shot on the top pair.

If its absolutely not working you make a bold move for a top pairing D.

The way I see it, give Dermott a 1x1 deal so that he can prove himself worthy of a larger contract. Only keep one spare. Trade engvall for picks. Give Mikheyev 250k less on a one year deal. Thats 3M right there. Use that 3M on a guy like demelo, gudas, or braun. Adds an extra layer of insurance for the D. If Dermott and holl and lehtonen and sandin and liljegren are lights out, great. If some of them falter a bit, then you have braun/demelo/gudas as a solid, reliable top 4 option.

Agree completely. Not gonna get ripped off for an average top 4 RHD (like Manson) when Dermott/Lehtonen could possibly fill the role.

If you give everybody a 1 year deal and they play well then next year Hyman is gone. Can't go year by year.

I kinda think the Leafs are going to have to go with a line-up something like this. Unless the Leafs trade another mid cap forward. to create cap space, there is no cap room for a Dman.
Like the the fact you went with 23 man roster. Maybe 22 man roster will happen but not the 21 or even 20 some suggest.

You could do that to add depth yeah, but all those guys you listed are probably only barely more suitable for top line assignments than Dermott is.
I would agree with Mikheyev on a 1 year deal for sure.

but the difference between them and Dermott is that you know for sure that they are capable. Give Dermott a chance at it, and if it's not working out, you have a safe option