Former Leaf explains how Brendan Shanahan failed to help the team
Former Maple Leafs defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo has bashed Brendan Shanahan for failing to be involved in the drafting of more defensemen.
Carlo Colaiacovo was doing his podcast "First Up", and was very critical of the way Brendan Shanahan and the Toronto Maple Leafs organization has failed to do a better job at drafting more defensemen.
Colaiacovo stated that the team focused too much on building an offensive powerhouse that they have paid absolutely no attention to replenishing their defensive prospect pool.
Colaiacovo claims that the last time the Leafs focused on drafting and developing a defenseman was Morgan Reilly, and that ever since his arrival, they have not paid any attention to that position anymore. Colaiacovo believes this is one of the main reasons the Leafs are unable to compete in the playoffs and make deep runs, as they have no one capable of shutting down their opponent's top scorers.
Justin Holl, Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren are defensemen that the Leafs have drafted in recent years, however Colaiacovo believes those guys aren't the answer and will never develop into the "stud" that Reilly became.
Morgan Reilly was drafted fifth overall by the Leafs back in 2012, and has gone on to play 791 games with the team, scoring 80 goals and adding a lovely 392 assists.
Colaiacovo is very disappointed that Shanahan and company continue to only focus on drafting forwards, like what they did with their current "core four", and that they have had tunnel vision in that position without focusing on anything else.
Colaiacovo stated that due to the Leafs recent failures in drafting defensemen, they are always trying to make trades to acquire players in that position instead, which he claims is hurting the team, leading them to make some horrible deals when they should have focused on drafting and developing their own defensemen internally instead.
The Maple Leafs drafted Colaiacovo in the first round back in 2001, and he went on to have a solid career, playing with the likes of Mats Sundin back in the mid 2000s for the Leafs. Colaiacovo finished his NHL career with 470 games, having picked up 157 points.
| POLL | ||
Do you agree that Shanahan and the Leafs have failed to draft proper defensemen? | ||
| Yes | 259 | 89.6 % |
| No | 30 | 10.4 % |
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