Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

The Toronto Maple Leafs Still Have Blueline Issues

02/23/2019 at 8:50am EST

from Rosie DiManno of the Toronto Star,

Left, right. Left, right. Stand off.

Military drill cadence. Also the martial plan to which the Maple Leafs have reverted on their blue line, as per the combo rigidity of Sgt. Mike Babcock.

So, tell me again why the club traded for Jake Muzzin late last month.

Doubtless the ex-King has enhanced Toronto’s rearguard. But here we are, a couple of days before the trade deadline, and still the Leafs need a right-handed shot on a defence where the only natural starboard shooter is Nikita Zaitsev. And the upshot of that quandary is having the overtaxed Ron Hainsey restored on the right side with Morgan Rielly.

Hainsey, who was dropped to the bottom pairing for about a minute and a half, is back on the top pairing. Muzzin tumbles to the third tandem, yoked with Travis Dermott. In Thursday’s loss to the Capitals, Muzzin had 19:56 of ice time, compared to Rielly’s 25:11. Rielly, of course, is on the first power-play unit. But Muzzin helps kills penalties. And he has been fifth in ice time since being acquired.

Surely that can’t have been the plan.

continued

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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