Alright I found a Timmins solution but it requires some cap gymnastics and call up and downs basically very unconventional

So if the Leafs waive Reaves (to do stuff similar to Simmonds) they can keep Timmins. In games they want to use Reaves they can send Robertson down and be cap compliant.

Will it happen probs not but thats a more Pridham like solution or make everyone happy but scramble brains solution

Other option is try and trade him for a young forward.

You just don't want to see any faults in Keefe eh? He likes his favorites and it costs him.

I am not a fan of Mccabe. He's gets major leeway because he hits sometimes but his defensive coverage is just not very good. But let's throw Timmins away because Keefe didn't use him in the playoffs last year. Let's praise Mccabe for being physical but ignore his faults.

Being on the ice when a goal is scored doesn't mean it's your fault. Timmins was on his man in the corner on the 1st goal. McCabe just hung out in front of the bet giving Davies a clear path to the net. Then he screened the goalie on the 2nd goal both cases he was to blame.

I think this hits on the point more than anything. We can argue whether Timmins is a better option right now than Gio...but from where I'm standing, there's 0% chance that Keefe would pick Timmins over Gio anytime soon.

I was hollering last year to get Gio rotated out of the lineup more often. He was excellent early to mid season but clearly lost steam.

I'm all for keeping TImmins...I really liked him when he got into a few games last year but he seemed to clearly be Keefe's scapegoat....one missed play and he sat the next game. Tough for any player to try and find consistency when not getting regular looks or worried that one wrong move gets you in the pressbox for a few weeks.

Anyway..my take is that if we lost Timmins to waivers...it wouldn't be anything to lose sleep over....but there's no chance the leafs D core is going to stay healthy all year...so they better be damned sure that the 7th and 8th guys on the depth chart are dudes they trust more than Timmins...otherwise the difference in cap hit isn't worth the risk of losing him, IMO

To me if they can at least get something for Timmins via a cap trade would be fine with that. As lets be real come the TDL Leafs will add another Dman or two anyway pushing some guys down the chart. There are ways to make room for him but it either means losing another good player or doing some cap gymnastics.

Cause there are some good rental options from fringe contenders who could be out come TDL: Demelo, Tanev, Grzelcyk, etc. And after Brads comments on the Dcore yea got a feeling we may see someone come in sooner or later whether it be mid way through the season, TDL, or next FA is the question.

Btw has anyone heard anything concrete about Klingberg? Do we need to worry about him for opening night?

If we want to "be real"...it's that the Leafs will need a 7th, 8th and maybe 9th D-man between October and the March trade deadline.

If they want Timmins to be the "next guy up"...they'll do the cap gymnastics and they'll use training camp to help make that decision.

All I've read is "something tightened up". Hopefully good to go by opening night...but would definitely play into this recent conversation

if he's not LTIR eligible and they need to make a decision on who's in the lineup based on who's cheapest

He had some muscle tightness thats all thats known rn

Leg or hip muscle tightness is the worst and man it can be painful.

Probs will be dtd unless he tore something

Kind of sad when we are hoping the Leafs big opening day signing goes on LTIR.

So many points to the right side as a weakness but to me its the left side. Liljegren has looked solid so far, if he can hang with Rielly and make a solid pair, moving Brodie to the left is ideal. He's so so so much better than Mccabe who should be 3rd pair. Despite the love he gets for being a stay at home defenceman. He isn't that. He's physical but puts himself out of position all the time. Shelter him on the 3rd pair with Timmins and have Brodie and Klingberg together on the 2nd pair and we are far more balanced. Gio should sit most games. He's just not good enough at this age.

I don't think anyone is hoping for that.

Why is moving Brodie to the left ideal? His best seasons have been on the right

Because he's better than anyone short of Rielly on the left side. The weakest link is Gio. Moving out of the lineup sometimes is wise. It's allows McCabe to play a reduced role which is what he should play. He's not a top 4 defenceman on a contender.

Been saying that for a while why break our lineup to insert a 3rd pair guy. In general having a right side of Liligren, Klingberg, Timmins = not ideal

Not a lot of confidence there is it

Rielly-Brodie
McCabe-Liligren
Gio-Klingberg

Is good enough to use till TDL where we can go add someone to shore things up. Gryzlyc, Demelo, Tanev, etc.

Rielly-Brodie
McCabe-Liligren
Gryzlyc-Klingberg

I hate the term top 4 D. It's meaningless jargon.

They're all better described as bottom 4 D because the gap between a 1st pair and 2nd is much larger than a 2nd and 3rd.

(It's also why people who say the leafs need another top 4 D are always wrong, we need a 1st pair D, not another guy who is ultimately a B4 D)

McCabe is a perfectly fine B4 dman, it isnt worth compromising Brodie just to get an extra 1% out of McCabe. Plus it ****s the roster build

Maybe but if Liljegren can play with Rielly why not move Brodie to the left?

I’d prefer to see that also. When Keefe moved Brodie to his strong side he looked so much more comfortable.

P.K Subban

“ The game with in the game!

Defensemen need to play their strong side 5 on 5! It’s the details of the game at this level that make a difference. ”

I agree with this

Agree with you Is Reilly a top 2 just because he plays the most minutes, some are the easy PP time. Giordano played 18 minutes, lots of PK time....so who was the valuable LHD? Even the much maligned Liljegren played 18 minutes with very litte PP time.

It's just makes the team stronger too. This is of course if Liljegren can be a good partner for Rielly. That would make so much of a difference for TO

It really doesnt make them stronger as that right side would be very weak defensively if Brodie was shifted to the left. As Klingberg, and Timmins are not the best defensively and your gonna have Liligren play a much higher role which could cause more problems


As even if Liligren adapts you got 3 offense focused Dman on your blueline and playing not the best formula to win.

In general keeping Brodie with Rielly or McCabe is better for Toronto

Rielly-Brodie
McCabe-Liligren
Gio-Klingberg

Is what we should use till TDL then we either go add a top 4 RD or LD.

Gio with Klingberg would be awful. Giving Liljegren 2nd pair minutes with McCabe wouldn't be best either. Gio has to sit

I'm not sure I can get behind all the Gio hate. This guy held our d-core together almost single-handedly last year.

Don't get me wrong...he wilted down the stretch and into the playoffs...and something tells me he's the type of guy that would refuse to take nights off if asked by the coaching staff...but I'm not sure it's fair to completely write him off already.

Hopefully a more managed work load will allow for a full season of consistency

I've been trying to check back on how many Dmen have played till 40, the one I found that looks kinda comparable was Chris Chelios. He had a monster year (at 39 years old in 2001/02 Season) played 24 games in the playoffs winning the cup.

The following year (40 years old) he just fell off a cliff. Now I am not saying that will happen to Gio but I think it is not out of the realm that expecting him to still be an effective pro at 40's years old might be a stretch. Hope he proves me wrong.

I'd personally like to see TOR go:

Rielly Liljegren
Brodie Timmins
McCabe Klingberg

With Gio getting around 30ish games.

Yep...the concerns are definitely valid and I won't be surprised if they end up coming to fruition....I just don't think we're at the point, as of today, to simply say "he sucks"