The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted four defenders in the 2016 NHL Draft (JD Greenway, Jack Walker, Keaton Middleton, Nicolas Mattinen) and four in the 2015 NHL Draft (Travis Dermott, Andrew Nielsen, Jesper Lindgren, Stephen Desrocher).
Of those eight defenders drafted, there are no sure-fire, legitimate, top four defenders. There is potential there with a few, namely Dermott, Greenway and Walker given their qualities, with Walker being the longshot – but no one confidently projected for a top four role.
Among all the positives that the new regime has surrounding this team, the defensive future is still murky.