Toronto Maple Leafs 2017-18 Defensemen Grades

The Toronto Maple Leafs have an underrated blue-line.

For so long, everyone was lamenting the fact that the Leafs didn’t have a ‘true number-one’ game-breaking defenseman on the blueline.  Then, they had one, and hardly anyone seemed to notice.

Morgan Rielly is a fringe Norris candidate and probably deserves more buzz than he’s getting.

Ian Tollach, from the MapleLeafs Nation, wrote a great piece about Rielly early in the year.  I think you should definitely check it out, but let me quote liberally from it anyways:

Despite playing some of the toughest minutes in the league (98th percentile in Quality of Competition), Rielly’s team has significantly outshot the opposition when he’s on the ice. To give you an idea of just how difficult that is, here’s a list of defencemen who face elite competition (90th percentile or higher), have a positive shot differential relative to their teammates, and are on pace for over 50 points this season: Drew Doughty Victor Hedman Morgan Rielly

Rielly ended up controlling almost 51% of the play while he was on the ice, he put up 52 points in 76 games, and was partnered with below-average boat-anchor Ron Hainsey. Without Hainsey, Rielly jumps to a 56% possession rating , which is one percentage point away from what the best possession defenseman in the NHL (Mark Giordano) posted.

Rielly also was the NHL leader in points per minute on the power play. In fact the more you delve into his stats, the better he looks as a Norris candidate.

Anyways, the rest of the Leafs defense is good too. Jake Gardiner is a legit top-pairing star, Hainsey and Zaitsev are adequate and Dermott appears to be a star in the making.  The only weakness is Polak, but what can you do?

Here are your grades for the Toronto Maple Leafs defneseman.

Morgan Rielly

It’s been an impressive season for 24- year- old defenceman Morgan Rielly.

He’s garnered more points in the past 74 games than any other season since his NHL debut in 2013, posting a total of six goals and 46 assists for 52 points.  He was also the most productive defenseman, per minute of ice time, on the power-play in the NHL.

Rielly has been excellent at helping create those chances for the Toronto Maple Leafs by driving the puck offensively. Not only is the chemistry there with Hyman and Matthews, he’s excelled defensively this year more than ever. He is among one of only three defenseman in the NHL to post a positive Corsi rating while facing tough competition and scoring 50 points

Rielly has really shown off his versatility during power plays lately, to rake in those points. The Toronto Maple Leafs had a historically good first powerplay unit this year, and Rielly was the catalyst.

He’s been demonstrating more confidence during offensive opportunities and winning more battles. His ability to read the opposing team and adjust his game play is something new, but necessary for the Leafs defense. After this season, Rielly’s made it clear he is a star defenceman on the team, and a legitimate #1 NHL blueliner.

-Marianne Iannaci

Nikita Zaitsev

Expectations were high coming into Zaitsev’s second season. After a solid rookie campaign Zaitsev was rewarded with a huge seven year deal with a total value of 3l.5 million. Although there is some risk in the deal, it’s got a decent cap hit and Zaitsev is a righty, so it’s unlikely to ever be too problematic.

This season has been anything but smooth for the 26 year old d man. Zaitsev just hasn’t been able to find his footing this season after a slow start, and missing 23 games with injury and illness. It is expected that a player will take another step forward in their development in year two. Adapting to playing on the smaller ice was a big obstacle for Zaisev, so it was expected he would be even better this year.

He wasn’t.

A major reason Zaitsev was given the contract he was because of the lack of depth the Leafs have on the right side. Good right shot defenceman are hard to find.  Zaitsev is a proven capable top-four defenseman and even if he never lives up to expectations, the contract he signed was  a reasonable risk.  The Leafs could still capitalize if Zaitsev rebounds, because the cap hit is relatively low.

Still, the Leafs need more from him. Zaitsev’s decrease in power play usage from last year to this year is another reason for his lack of impact. In 2016-17 Zaitsev averaged 2 minutes of power play time a game, while this season he only averages 14 seconds of power play time a game. Contributing on the power can be a confidence booster for a player like Zaitsev, who isn’t known to be a physical presence. I still believe Zaitsev will be a good player for the Leafs moving forward.  With the Leafs getting set for a second straight playoff trip, Zaitsev can wipe away his sub par regular season with a good spring.

– Carson Trask

Jake Gardiner

Despite a slow start, Jake Gardiner had a career year, finishing with 52 points. Gardiner has been nothing short of brilliant offensively this season, but it seems he will never overcome his reputation as a bad defender.

Gardiner was almost at 50% CF and his partner, Nikita Zaitsev had a bad year.  Additionally, Gardiner plays some very tough minutes.  Overall, despite the points being a career high, he probably wasn’t as great as he was last year, but he’s still a legit top pairing defenseman who is a huge benefit to his team.

Let’s start with plain, raw numbers. Gardiner hit career highs in assists (47)and points (52) this season. He averages about 22:35 in ice time per game, which leads all Leafs skaters.

Gardiner quarterbacks one of the Leafs powerplay units, and at the beginning of the season it was regarded as the first unit. It has since been demoted to a second option (despite explosive offensive options in Matthews and Nylander) due to the impressive performance from the unit led by Morgan Rielly.  That line was unbelievable, so that’s hardly a knock on Gardiner.

There’s no doubt that Gardiner has struggled at times this season. What player doesn’t? His defensive errors are usually glaring, and then amplified by his (undeserved) reputation, but in reality they are no worse than any player getting the kinds of minutes he gets.  Babcock plays him like a number one defenseman even though Rielly and Hainsey are referred to as the top pair.

His possession numbers aren’t too shabby either. He’s hovering around 50.7CF% at the moment, which is positive, but still well below his possession numbers of the last two seasons (54.4% in 2015-16 and 52.6% last season). Gardiner has played the majority of his shifts with three partners – Nikita Zaitsev, Connor Carrick, and Roman Polak. His possession numbers with all three players are under 50%. It is worth noting that in the limited time Gardiner has played with Rielly, they combine for 61.83 CF%.

– Lauren Kelly

Travis Dermott

A late call-up in the season, Travis Dermott seemed to have little trouble adjusting himself to the NHL level of play. His captivating confidence from his very first game, nay, shift, made him a fan-favorite rather quick.

Though he has only played 37 games this season since he made his debut, it feels like he’s been a part of the core for much longer. Travis Dermott has everything in to become a solid top 4 two-way defenseman. He brings a big body to throw around, reads the play excellent, is confident with the puck offensively and skates pretty fast for his size.

I was surprised Dermott didn’t make the opening night roster. It must have been a disappointment for him as well, not making the final cut. Like a mature athlete, Dermott did the only thing he could do, playing damn good hockey. Making it impossible to ignore, he earned his spot, no doubt about it and he’s here to stay.

Despite playing the most minutes with the Leafs absolute worst, Roman Polak, Dermott posts impressive possession numbers; 51.2% CorsiFor, 47.54% SF, 54.2% SCF and a GF% of 61.5%. Guess what, the minutes Roman Polak played without Dermott these stats drop to; 44.9% CorsiFor, 47% SF, 44.3% SCF and a GF% of 50%. I’m not even trying to bash on Polak, not all at all. I’m trying to paint you guys the picture that Dermott has been so good, that he even made Polak look good statistically.

It get’s really bizarre when you look at the stats Dermott has in the minutes he played without Polak as his defensive partner, which is about 60% of the minutes Dermott has played. Dermott’s possession numbers are; 57.6% CorsiFor, 59.2% SF, 63.3% SCF and GF% of 75%.

.(even strength stats, since he hasn’t played much on the special teams).

With just an ATOI of 16:00 in the season, Dermott still produced at a point rate 0.35 per game. While seeing absolutely no time on the power play. Pretty impressive for a rookie. There is no doubt in my mind that with Timothy Liljegren and the outsider for captaincy Morgan Rielly, Travis Dermott is the future of the Leafs blue-line.

– Wil Timmermans

Connor Carrick

Let’s just put it out there: Connor Carrick got lucky this season. Had there not been so many injuries on the blueline (mainly to Morgan Rielly and Nikita Zaitsev), I’m fairly confident in saying that Carrick would have dressed in significantly less than the 47 games he played in this season.

I don’t know why Mike Babcock doesn’t seem to trust him, but Carrick can is dependable, barring the odd mistake here or there (sort of like Gardiner, except Babcock trusts Jake way more).

More from Editor In Leaf

• Toronto Maple Leafs: Nick Robertson Healthy and Ready
• Ryan Reaves Will Have Zero Impact on Toronto Maple Leafs
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Playing Max Domi In Top-Six a HUGE Mistake
• Top 10 Scandals in the History of the Toronto Maple Leafs
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Results from the Traverse City Prospects Tournament

Carrick had 4 goals and 8 assists for 12 points this season, which are career highs in all three categories (despite playing significantly less games and minutes than last season). He doesn’t play any special teams, which reflects in lower TOI numbers. However, one thing that Carrick has over other defenceman like Zaitsev and Ron Hainsey is that he has been a positive possession player since arriving in Toronto two seasons ago.

Carrick finished this season with 52.6CF%, and though it’s a small drop off from his 54.9CF% in 2015-16, it’s still the second-highest possession number among all Leafs defenders. Only Travis Dermott is higher. Carrick has looked better this season than he’s given credit for. Like Gardiner, he has the odd goof-up, but so has every other Leafs blueliner. He’s also looked better than several of the players ahead of him on the depth chart. It’s unfortunate that he’s not given more of an opportunity to play. Dermott’s emergence means that Carrick will likely be sitting for most of the playoffs, barring injury.

But he’s made the most of his opportunities in the regular season and played about as well as we could have hoped. Carrick has been reliable and played his role to perfection, and you can’t ask for much more of a player than that.  Carrick is a great shot suppressor and it’s still impossible to believe the Leafs sit him and play Polak.  No other player has been less deserving of being healthy scratched.

Roman Polak

He allows a lot of shots when he’s on the ice, but he is also one of the only Leafs who brings a physical presence. I’m no fan, but many are.  He is adequate for what’s expected of him.

Next: 2017-18 TML Forward Grades

Thanks for reading.  All stats from naturalstattrick.com   

All salary cap info from Cap Friendly.   We also use hockeydb.com and NHL.com.   I still think that Polak grade is a little high.  Thanks for reading.