Insider confirms that the Leafs are indeed shopping polarizing right-shot defender
The 2021-22 season was a big one for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who finished the season 4th overall, setting franchise records for both wins (54) and points (115). Still, even with the regular season success, the Leafs were unable to manifest any postseason success, falling in 7 games to the Tampa Bay Lightning in round one.
Following another first round exit, Leafs President, Brendan Shanahan announced that both Kyle Dubas and Sheldon Keefe would be returning next season to try to finish what they started. Dubas spoke about the Leafs' core and running it back once again, but that doesn't necessarily mean that there won't be significant change over the summer. Dubas has maintained from the very beginning that he's in the business of making his team better. He has stated on a number of occasions that he would be open to any move that can improve his team, so it doesn't necessarily mean that he won't deal a core player.. he just won't do it unless he feels that the move improves the Leafs. He's also spoken about how the club is not interested in any "lateral" moves. It's not rocket science here. It's the devil that you know versus the devil that you don't.
One player who Leafs fans have been obsessing over the idea of moving is defenseman Justin Holl. The unrest over Holl only intensified after the Leafs lost forward Jared McCann to the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft in order to protect Holl and keep their top four intact. The fans' demand to move Holl hit fever pitch when the right-shot defender struggled to start the season, forcing his partnership with Jake Muzzin to come to an abrupt end. By all accounts, it appeared as though the Leafs had made a grave mistake by protecting Holl over McCann.
Thankfully, Holl was able to sort out some of the issues he was having with his game throughout the season and actually played fairly well during the postseason in comparison to how he started out the year. Now, with the emergence of Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren this season, it seems highly likely that they're both fulltime NHLers next season. Since Holl was the Leafs' 7th defenseman for much of the season, he seemed like the candidate most likely to move this summer. Now, we have confirmation that the Leafs may indeed be trying to move him.
According to Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli, with Liljegren passing Holl on the depth chart on the right side, the 30-year-old blueliner is "eminently available". Seravalli has Holl listed at #22 on his list of the top 25 trade targets of the summer, though he did write that he felt as though the Leafs should have moved Holl previously, when his trade value was a little higher.
At this point, it doesn't appear as though Leafs fans are overly concerned with what they're getting back in a deal involved Justin Holl. They simply want him gone. For Dubas and company though, it's a different story. They're going to want a fair return on a top-6 NHL defenseman, who has played significant time in the team's top-4 as recently as last season. He also has a reasonable cap hit ($2M through 2022-23) and is a decent contributor offensively for a defender who doesn't play a ton of minutes. Holl has broken 20 points in each of his last two seasons, playing just 55 and 69 games, respectfully. It's not out of the realm of possibility that, under the right circumstances and with the right opportunity, that Holl could be a 30-point defenseman.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 9 | 469 ANSWERS Insider confirms that the Leafs are indeed shopping polarizing right-shot defender Will Justin Holl be a Leaf when the puck drops to open the 2022-23 season? | ||
| Yes | 62 | 13.2 % |
| No | 264 | 56.3 % |
| Dear God, I hope not | 117 | 24.9 % |
| If he is, he'll be dealt at the deadline | 26 | 5.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
