TRAIKOS: It’s time the Leafs traded Nylander for defensive help

He wasn’t the reason why the Leafs lost. But he — along with Matthews, Marner and Tavares — didn’t make up for Toronto’s shortcomings.

Columbus head coach John Tortorella, who said the playoffs are where your legacies are made, had been “anxious to see who’s tall and who shrinks” in a Game 5 that was really a Game 7.

Well, we saw it. The Leafs needed goals. They didn’t get them. Not even one. And in a who-blinks-first defensive battle, they didn’t get the stops either because they are not built that way.

It’s time that that changed. It’s time the Leafs swapped a forward for a defenceman. It’s time the Leafs augmented their offensive skill with someone who is skilled at keeping the puck out of their own net.

It’s what Columbus did. Not long ago, the Blue Jackets traded Ryan Johansen, who was coming off a 71-point season, to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Jones. Five years later, the trade has worked out for a Columbus team that shut out the Leafs twice in a five-game series.

Maybe Nylander can get the Leafs a Seth Jones or, at the very least, a Josh Manson or Brett Pesce.

Any one of them would have been an upgrade over Tyson Barrie or Cody Ceci, who looked more and more exposed once Jake Muzzin left the series after being injured in Game 2. Both Barrie and Ceci will be gone as free agents in the off-season, leaving the Leafs with a defence corps of Morgan Rielly, Muzzin and a bunch of question marks.

Unless Nylander can play defence in addition to centre, he’s better off helping the team via trade. After all, the Leafs are going to be up against the salary cap next year with Ilya Mikheyev and Pierre Engvall requiring raises. And with rookie Nick Robertson showing that he belongs among the top nine forwards on the team — if not the top six — the Leafs have more than enough players who can fill Nylander’s void.

Something has to give. The excuses are over.

After four straight years of failing to win a playoff round, it’s becoming clear that this team isn’t built to win in the post-season. It wasn’t even built to win in the regular season this year, despite Matthews challenging for the Rocket Richard Trophy and Marner, Tavares and Nylander finishing with more points than anyone on Columbus’ roster.

It’s time to make a serious change.

Postmedia News

mtraikos@postmedia.com

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