The conversation about the Leafs' blueline that nobody wants to have needs to be had
The Toronto Maple Leafs arrived in Sunrise, Florida on Tuesday riding a 5-game winning streak and, at points over that span, they looked absolutely dominant - including against the Tampa Bay Lightning just one night prior on Monday.
They started the game against the Panthers firing on all cylinders as well, but it didn't take long before the wheels fell off during the second period and we all know the end result. So, what changed? Well, the blueline changed, and not for the better.
With veteran Jake Muzzin being activated off of LTIR on Tuesday, someone needed to come out of the lineup. While most were pondering over whether it would be Timothy Liljegren or Justin Holl coming out, head coach Sheldon Keefe elected to scratch Ilya Lyubuskin instead. Boy, what a mistake that was.
Let's talk about the elephant in the room for a minute. The Jake Muzzin/Justin Holl pairing simply does not work. While they complimented each other at times last season, for whatever reason, they don't compliment each other at all this season. We have seen several different pairings used this season, but the only time that Justin Holl has looked solid is alongside T.J. Brodie, and I think that says more about how good Brodie is than it does about Holl.
The Leafs seemed to have found a really good thing with Mark Giordano and Timothy Liljegren. Throwing Ilya Lyubushkin out on the top line with Morgan Rielly was an experiment that seemed to have paid off in a big way. With Rasmus Sandin coming back perhaps as soon as next week, or shortly thereafter, someone is going to have to come out as well, which leads us to the part of the conversation that nobody seems to want to have.
Jake Muzzin and Justin Holl should be the 7th and 8th defensemen for the Toronto Maple Leafs down the home stretch and into the playoffs.
Not everyone is into advanced analytics, but if you're fond of them, Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin are analytics darlings. Don't like analytics? Prefer the eye test? Okay. Liljegren and Sandin have looked really, really good this season. Scratching either of these two young defenders would be detrimental to the success of the team.
We already spoke about Gio pairing well with Liljegren, and Lyubushkin complimenting Rielly very well. I can only imagine that a 2nd pair that consists of Rasmus Sandin and T.J. Brodie would also be very strong.
I think we may need to make peace with the fact that Jake Muzzin isn't getting any younger and is coming off a pair of concussions this season. Also, that Justin Holl, when not paired with Brodie, has been an absolute train wreck. But, while both players do have their shortcomings, it doesn't mean they're not still useful pieces for the Leafs, but at this point, I think they should be insurance pieces and nothing more.
Look. It's not a coincidence that the one time the Leafs go back to Muzzin/Holl, they get absolutely caved in on the score sheet. I propose alternating them in and out of the lineup as Brodie's partner until Sandin is ready to return. After that, your pairings are Rielly/Lyubushkin, Sandin/Brodie, Giordano/Liljegren.
| POLL | ||
7 AVRIL | 490 ANSWERS The conversation about the Leafs' blueline that nobody wants to have needs to be had Should Muzzin and Holl be the Leafs' 7th and 8th defensemen for their upcoming playoff run? | ||
| Yes | 226 | 46.1 % |
| No | 37 | 7.6 % |
| Holl should sit, Muzzin should play | 191 | 39 % |
| Muzzin should sit, Holl should play | 36 | 7.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
