Why Justin Holl may not be moved; moving Kerfoot or Muzzin could benefit the Leafs more
For the last few seasons, Leafs Nation has been begging GM Kyle Dubas to find a new home for Justin Holl, but it seems like every time that sort of talk has hit its peak, Holl comes out and blows everyone away with his stellar two-way play. Two seasons back, it was his ability to render Connor McDavid as completely ineffective in a 3-game series against the Oilers in the later stages of the season. This past year, it was his performance in the playoffs, completely stifling Tampa's rush in round 1.
On the chart below, you'll see that, while T.J. Brodie, Ilya Lyubushkin and Jake Muzzin were all very good at defending against the rush in the Tampa series, Holl was incredible in that role. Elite even.
For a defenseman who makes just $2M per season, Holl has displayed some very strong defensive poise and patience and, while he isn't perfect, he provides excellent value at $2M. Not to mention the fact that if the Leafs move him out this summer, they'll only have one RHD in Timothy Liljegren on the roster. Nothing against Brodie, Benn or Mete, but it's not easy constantly having to accept passes, knock down pucks or hold the line on your backhand.
I'm starting to think that the Leafs may not actually be trying to move Justin Holl at all. I think they may be attempting to move one of Jake Muzzin or Alexander Kerfoot instead. Doing so would not only give them enough cap space to both sign Rasmus Sandin and perhaps bring in another forward, but it could also put them in a position to just sign Sandin and then begin to accrue cap space right away to use at the deadline.
Just how significant a piece could the Leafs concievably add at the deadline? If they leave themselves approximately $1.5M in cap space to accrue deadline space all season long, they could build up around $7M to spend at this year's trade deadline.
Will they do this? I'm not entirely sure. Should they do this? Again, I'm not entirely sure. But, if the Leafs do want to retain Holl and instead move someone like Alex Kerfoot and replace him in the lineup with Nick Robertson, they could end up having enough cap space by the deadline to bring in a prized pending UFA as a rental to help push them over the top. Someone like Vladimir Tarasenko, Bo Horvat or J.T. Miller (all pending UFA's) could be a solid target. Just some food for thought.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 28 | 230 ANSWERS Why Justin Holl may not be moved; moving Kerfoot or Muzzin could benefit the Leafs more Should the Leafs work on accruing cap space all year for a HUGE deadline splash this season? | ||
| No, those big deadline moves never work | 56 | 24.3 % |
| Yes, adding a major player could help us | 90 | 39.1 % |
| Don't care, just win | 84 | 36.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
