Subtraction a huge reason why the Leafs' defense will be better next season

The phrase "addition by subtraction" refers to how you can sometimes improve simply by removing a problem, even if you do nothing else. For some teams, even the most impactful additions can have their impact lessened or completely neutralized by a pre-existing bad contract on the team that wasn't able to be moved.

Fortunately for the Maple Leafs, they don't really have any truly bad contracts. Yes, they have a lot of large contracts, but none of them are particularly problematic due to the term remaining or the player's individual offensive output.

With Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson coming in, the blueline was already going to be better than it was last season. One is the one of the best defensive defensemen of his generation and the other is a Stanley Cup champion with seven seasons in which he had scored double-digits in goals.

As impactful as those moves are, they are made better by the subtractions of John Klingberg and Joel Edmundson, as The Athletic's Kevin Papetti points out below:

Ultimately, just by shedding Klingberg and Edmundson, even though neither played a particular large stretch of time with the team, the Leafs are better. Add to that the fact that Tanev and OEL are both useful pieces in their own right and the momentum swing could be extremely noticeable, as opposed to running Conor Timmins and Mark Giordano, as they did at points last season.

I'm very excited to see what not only a new blueline can do in Toronto, but a new coaching staff as well. Craig Berube had a pretty solid team in St. Louis, and associate coach Lane Lambert learned a lot from his time with Barry Trotz, long believed to be one of the absolute best head coaches in the game before he moved into a GM role in Nashville.

Thrilling times ahead in Toronto, folks. I'm amped up for training camp in just over a month and a half's time.