Toronto Maple Leafs Don’t Need Big-Name Defenseman
By James Tanner
The go-to answer for ‘what do the Toronto Maple Leafs need the most?’ is always “a number one defenseman.”
It shouldn’t be.The Toronto Maple Leafs are in better shape on the back-end that you likely think, and they don’t need to spend assets or cap-space to buy a top-of-the-line player.
They should not spend the money or assets to get a big-name defenseman. The term and price will only hurt the team down the line, and given their timeline for winning, there is no need to be ultra aggressive and take a big risk on someone like Kevin Shattenkirk.
Toronto Maple Leafs Defense: As it Stands
The Leafs currently have five defenseman signed for next season. Although Alexei Marchenko is likely to be picked in the expansion draft leaving them with four defenseman under contract.
Those are: Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, Connor Carrick and Martin Marincin.
Rielly and Gardiner are currently worthy of playing on the top pairing of any team, but it if you’re looking for a truely elite, game dominating defenseman, well, there’s only about ten of those and neither one of these guys is that. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t good.
People often say of Gardiner or Rielly “they’re good for a second pairing,” which is ridiculous. Both are well above the average level of a top-pairing defenseman – they just aren’t Hedman, Ekman-Larsson, Doughy, Keith, Karlsson level. 90% of players who play top-line minutes aren’t, so adjust your expectations of what a top pairing player is accordingly.
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Marincin is a low-event player who tends towards tilting the shot-advantage in his teams direction. Carrick is a higher-event player than Marincin, but he is steady and both can play above-average NHL hockey down in the lineup. Carrick may also only have scratched the surface of his potential.
Polak and Hunwick are UFAs and while they might be signed, they should be let go. Zaitsev is likely to get re-signed. That gives the Leafs five serviceable NHL defenesman.
Fact is, you’d like a #1 guy, and you’d like some more grit but smart and steady is the way to play this. No need to jump the gun and go crazy. Allowing themselves time to develop some real defensive talent is all the Leafs need.
Keeping Options Open
One thing that is important is to keep options open. If the Leafs spend their cap-space to fill out their defense with six guys better than Marincin and Carrick, they’ll get a short-term benefit but pay for it over time.
Keeping Marincin and Carrick and hoping to use one as a regular leaves open space for a rookie to steal a job. P.K Subbam, Shea Weber, Duncan Keith, Roman Josi……all were drafted after the first round. An elite defenseman isn’t going to help if it costs Mitch Marner, so might as well focus on stockpiling young defenseman and hoping you get lucky in this way.
Maybe it’s Travis Dermott. Maybe it’s Andrew Neilsen. Maybe he hasn’t been drafted yet.
Either way, no need to rush.
How to Improve:
Do nothing. Or close to nothing. The Leafs should be looking to trade for a mid-level guy who they can dress ahead of their current bottom three, and perhaps challange Rielly or Gardiner for best on the team. Players like Josh Manson, Jason Demers or Dylan Demelo. If I couldn’t get any of those guys, I’d look to sign Cody Franson, and resign Hunwick and Polak.
Then I’d wait.
The Leafs defense isn’t even that bad. If you added one Manson, Demers, Demelo or Franson it’d be pretty good. Not great, but why rush it?
Trading a big name forward for a defenseman isn’t going to happen and it’s not even worth doing or thinking about. Small improvements and a focus on drafting and developing.
That’s all that needs to happen.