Quoting: Vanta_Flame
Nah. The Leafs defence core is very underrated in an unbiased way. Rielly is very capable of making good plays while being offence (like a diet makar), and Brodie is a smart, defence-midned D (diet Devon toews). Saying that the Avs 3rd pair (namely Bowen Byram) will be better than the Leafs top pair when he hasn't proven that yet isn't smart. Rielly and Brodie have actually proven themselves. Also, the strong suit of the Leafs is a lot of forward depth with top 10 defence (10th in shots against per game last season) while the Avs have pretty mediocre forward depth with top defence. Two very different teams. Would honestly love to see a Leafs vs Avs finals
Firstly, I think it would be beneficial for you to quote those you are talking to. Just press the "quote" button in the bottom right corner, it helps to clarify.
Now, looking at that argument, I would agree that Rielly - Brodie > Byram - Johnson. HOWEVER, Byram, at his current rate of development, will almost certainly be better than Rielly, he already has a 2-way game, whereas Rielly is pure offensive defenseman, who absolutely sh*ts his pants in his defensive zone. As for Johnson, he's is basically a 2nd pairing defenseman who could swap places with Manson if need be. Essentially, we have the league's best top pair and two second pairs. We're more than just the top defense. We're easily the best defense the league has seen in YEARS. There's a reason we have Georgiev and Frankie as our tandem behind that core.
And for Byram's more 2-way game + Rielly's lack of one this last season (go to Goals Above Replacement, look at the EVD column).
https://evolving-hockey.com/stats/players/?_inputs_&player=%22Bowen%20Byram%22
https://evolving-hockey.com/stats/players/?_inputs_&player=%22Morgan%20Rielly%22
Also, the Avs have perfectly fine forward depth. Our first line is elite. Our second line will be too, hopefully with either Rantanen or Landeskog playing with Newhook (and Nichushkin on the first line). Our third is arguably a tad bit of the weaker side, I'll concede. However, our fourth line is very solid and still fit with our fast, hard skating playstyle, all while also being pretty good penalty killers (Cogliano and Helm especially). Probably on par with the Leafs if I'm being honest.
To your last point, maybe think about the second round first!