Leafs reportedly pursuing big, mean, right handed defender
I don't know what Brad Treliving was thinking when he signed John Klingberg to a 1x$4.15M contract this summer. Leaf fans instantly knew the fit was wrong and that an all offense, zero defense blueliner was not what the team needed. So far, Klingberg has been exactly what we expected, past his prime offensively, worse than useless in the Leafs' end, and very, very soft.
Things came to a head on Wednesday night, Klingberg was on the ice for 4 goals against in the Leafs' loss to the Sens. At practice on Thursday, Klingberg was demoted to the 7th defenseman slot and appears to be a healthy scratch for what is a must-win game tomorrow against the struggling Calgary Flames.
Interestingly, the solution for the Leafs' defensive issues may actually be a Calgary defenseman. It was Brad Treliving who signed Nikita Zadorov to a 2-year deal paying $3.75M per season when he was GM of the Flames last year. Now Kevin Weekes is reporting that the Leafs are one of 4 teams actively pursuing the big Russian defender. Weekes also mentioned Chris Tanev, who is a shot blocking machine, but with T.J. Brodie and Mark Giordano diving in front of pucks on a nightly basis, Zadorov brings a couple of elements the Leafs sorely need: size and ferocity.
Seriously, get this guy a Leafs jersey ASAP.
At this point, I don't care in the slightest if Zadorov puts up a single point in a Leafs jersey. The Leafs have no issues scoring goals right now, it's stopping them that's an issue. Having a player like Zadorov will have opponents' heads on a swivel at all times. Pair him up with Jake McCabe for a hard-hitting shut down pairing, or split them up and spend 2/3 of the game with a defender on the ice who can absolutely drop opponents. Considering how the team is currently constructed, Zadorov would be a much more impactful player than Klingberg is right now.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 10 | 423 ANSWERS Leafs reportedly pursuing big, mean, right handed defender Who would you rather see on the ice for the Leafs? | ||
| Nikita Zadorov | 307 | 72.6 % |
| John Klingberg | 15 | 3.5 % |
| Chris Tanev | 53 | 12.5 % |
| Simon Benoit | 48 | 11.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
