Why the Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Keep Martin Marincin

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Martin Marincin is a member of the most underrated groups of players in the NHL.

The low-event player.  Every team wants them because they’re cheap, dependable and effective.  Fans tend to hate them, and there in lies the rub.  Martin Marincin is a perfect example: last year for the Toronto Maple Leafs he played 25 games, scored once and added six assists.

Fans – who seem programmed to always need a scapegoat – have singled him out as a player the Leafs have to get rid of.   A useless player who doesn’t do anything, makes errors and never scores.   At least, that’s what people are saying:

https://twitter.com/HockeyQueenxo/status/856483441403191300

As you can see, he is not a popular player and I am not alone in noticing this.  A prominent Leafs blogger recently graded him a D for the season.  Now, if you want to say “incomplete” because he didn’t play many games, OK.  But a D?  Considering how effective he is when he plays?

I honestly question if these people are evaluating the game beyond goals, assists and big hits.

My theory on the unwarranted unpopularity is as follows:

As a low-event player, he only really gets noticed when he screws up. Otherwise, he is mostly just quietly being effective and no one notices him, since his value comes from just moving the puck up the ice and not getting hemmed in his own zone; consistently making sure his team gets more shots than it allows.  Now that Jake Gardiner has to be regarded as elite (or close enough to not bothering to quibble) by even the most ridiculous of Leafs fans, the low information fan needs someone to hate.

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I give you Martin Marincin.

In Defense of Marincin Staying with the Toronto Maple Leafs :

If you don’t believe me that the hatred of Marincin is unwarranted, consider these stats:

• Marincin was third on the Leafs in overall possession, putting up a 50.80 CF%, as well as a third on the team in relative-corsi, + 1.92%.
• In 65 games last year, he was a 53% player.
• He is a + 50% CF over 175 total NHL games, proving he can do this long-term.

If you can play regular minutes on an NHL defense and post a +50% CF rating, you are effective.  At the very least, it makes you an above average 3rd pairing player.

• Marincin started 34% of his shifts in the defensive zone, which was only below Zaitsev on the Leafs, and is fairly extreme usage, considering only 40 or so players in the league were this high.  Considering he did this, and the Leafs still got more shots when he was on the ice than they allowed, it is impressive.
• WOWYs –  The six players that played the most minutes with Marincin all saw their percentage-rating rise when they were on the ice with Maricin relative to when they weren’t.
• Andersen, Zaitsev, Kadri, Komarov, Marner and Bozak all got better with Marincin on the ice.
• He particularly looked good with Nikita Zaitsev.  Together they posted a 56% rating, which is approaching elite territory.

So the facts, not the conjecture, show Martin Marincin is a solid NHL player. The Toronto Maple Leafs might have to expose him to the Knights in order to keep Connor Carrick, but in my opinion they should put some tasty bait out there (like Bozak) in order to ensure Marincin stays with Toronto.

He’s an effective defenseman who could form one of the best 3rd pairing in the NHL with Zaitsev.  Oh, and a bonus about guys who don’t score: they’re super cheap and always will be.  Marincin – who is a superior player to Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak – will make just over $1 million next year and can probably be extended for a similar amount.

One hopes that even if the fans don’t, management knows what they have in Marincin.

*All stats form stats.hockey.analysis.com and corsica.hockey