Leafs Defenseman's Tenure in Toronto Likely Coming to an End
The Toronto Maple Leafs could do themselves a big favor defensively and move on from Conor Timmins as his recent play has been detrimental to the team.
Though there's a lot of talk about adding defense to their team via the trade market, the Maple Leafs might best be suited to add by subtraction when it comes to their blueline.
Conor Timmins Has Been A Terrible Defenseman For Maple Leafs
Though Toronto's defense this year has completely turned itself around compared to last season, they have some glaring holes still. Morgan Rielly has struggled mightily but no one has looked worse than Conor Timmins.
While Timmins' Hockey Reference page would show some good counting stats, when you dive into his analytics it's a bit tougher.
Craig Berube continues to employ him on the penalty kill and he's been on the ice for nine goals against and while historically his team has had good possession numbers, they've regressed heavily this season and gets even worse during crunch time.
He also tends to get caught in the wrong position, and while he has been unlucky, he seems to show a lot of unwarranted hesitancy.
Fans have also been getting tired of Timmins, as social media has not been to kind to his lackluster performances.
Timmins isn't aggressive at points, but often finds himself acting careless and it costs him. His defense in general has regressed, and while he's added more physicality, it hasn't translated to much.
There's also the case to be made that he's too injury prone, as he's dealt with several different ailments that have kept him from finding any momentum and Toronto needs a consistent right-handed defenseman and Timmins hasn't been it.
Costing the Maple Leafs $1.1M and a free agent at season's end, the team should look to trade him to free up some cap space and give Philippe Myers more of a role, and allow Timmins to get a bit more growth elsewhere a la Timothy Liljegren.
Conor Timmins has been a disappointment this season, and while he has the potential to succeed and didn't cost a lot to acquire, the price Toronto pay for playing him could cost them a lot down the line.
