Toronto Maple Leafs 2017-18 Defensemen Grades

Ron Hainsey

Nothing annoys me more than the false narrative that Ron Hainsey is the reason for for Morgan Rielly’s breakout, Norris-Quality season.

I can’t make this any clearer: If anything, Hainsey holds Rielly back.

Hainsey scored 23 points in 80 games – a decent enough amount considering he doesn’t play the power-play.  The points however, would come for anyone skating as much as Hainsey does.  Inexplicably, the Toronto Maple Leafs used him on their top pairing, making him the worst such player in the NHL.

Hainsey 47.82% Corsi was not very good, and relative to his teammates, Hainsey was the Leafs worst possession defenseman.

All you need to know about what Hainsey does for Morgan Rielly can be summed up as follows:  With Morgan Rielly, Ron Hainsey is a respectable 49% defenseman.  Without Rielly, Hainsey drops to 41% and Rielly climbs to 56%.

The only reason I’m not giving Hainsey an F is that he contributes positively on the penalty kill.

– James Tanner