Maple Leafs Face Significant Void Following Departure of Key Player
With the Maple Leafs losing this player in the offseason, his major role will need to be filled by someone new.
Leafs Need to Find Effective Replacement for Holl on Penalty Kill
The Leafs are off to a decent start on the Penalty Kill this season, stopping 77.8 percent of chances. Their main defensive pairing on the PK is Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie, after losing Justin Holl in the offseason. Holl was previously the Leaf's leader in PK minutes.
With Gio's being 40, it is hard to imagine he can keep up the significant minutes that are required when playing on the first PK every night. This leaves a huge gap in the Leafs roster this year.
Leafs Look to Brodie and Liljegren to Play an Important Role
T.J. Brodie is one of the Leafs' best stay-at-home defensemen, playing on the top pair with Morgan Rielly to balance out Rielly's offensive tendency. Liljegren is currently playing on the second PK, and the Leafs need him to continue developing his skills, and quickly, in order to take a load off of Giordano as the season stretches on.
This could also be a reason why the Leafs are eager to put offensive pressure on opposing powerplays, in order to apply pressure early and not let teams get set up.
| POLL | ||
Do you think Gio will be able to play on the number 1 PK this entire year? | ||
| Yes | 151 | 38 % |
| No | 246 | 62 % |
| List of polls | ||
