The Toronto Maple Leafs are likely to lure a right handed defenseman to the GTA this summer.
Prior to jumping ahead and choosing potential defensemen that might be a fit. Let’s take a look at the defensive pairings from the 2017-2018 regular season.
Morgan Rielly & Ron Hainsey
Morgan Rielly played mostly with Ron Hainsey and formed solid chemistry. The pairing proved to be good move, even though there was much criticism across Leafs Nation whether Hainsey was truly a top two defenseman. While he registered his third lowest corsi-for percentage of his career, he was a strong veteran leader on the blue line. In many situations, Hainsey would provide advice to the young defenseman and acted like a player-coach. He was also stellar on the penalty kill.
Morgan Rielly had his best season in the NHL this past season. In 76 games, he registered 6 goals, 46 assists and 25 PPP. He was among the best defenseman in the NHL this season, being one of only three players (along with Doughty and Hedman) to play against top competition while scoring 50 points and putting up a positive corsi. Though Hainsey is often credited with facilitating Rielly’s breakout year, his stats jumped considerably whenever he was on the ice without Hainsey.
My recommendation would be to keep Hainsey and Rielly together in the 2018-2019 regular season. If in the first few games it’s not working, then D.J. Smith and Mike Babcock can re-assess.
Jake Gardiner & Nikita Zaitsev
This year’s second line was mostly filled by Jake Gardiner and Nikita Zaitsev. I know that a lot of Toronto Maple Leafs fans might be particularly frustrated with this pairing. Honestly, I’m just frustrated with Zaitsev and not Gardiner.
If you look at Gardiner’s numbers, it’s hard to complain. Offensively, he had his best season in the NHL. He registered 5 goals, 47 assists and 15 PPP. Defensively, he wasn’t bad either. He owned a 50.7 CF% and had 39 take-aways. He did own the most giveaways by a Maple Leaf this season, but he also played the most on the Maple Leafs roster.
On the other side, Zaitsev was abysmal throughout this season. He owned a 47.5 CF% and had 21 take-aways. His numbers wouldn’t be awful if he didn’t average a TOI/60 of 22:13. You would expect if he’d be logging a tremendous amount of ice time that he would be posting better defensive numbers.
My recommendation would be to move Zaitsev to the third pairing to play with Travis Dermott. After moving Zaitsev to the third line, the Maple Leafs should explore both the free agent and trade market to net a right handed defenseman to play with Gardiner.
Travis Dermott & Roman Polak
Mike Babcock consistently had Travis Dermott and Roman Polak play together on the third line this season. For some match-ups, Babcock opted to go with Connor Carrick instead of Polak. Polak did end up playing in more games than Carrick and was featured in 54 games.
I know I’m going to upset the many Polak fans, but he needs to go. He shouldn’t be in the lineup next season. Throughout the season, he appeared to be sluggish. I understand the need for physicality, but his limited defensive skill-set doesn’t help him. In 54 games, he registered a 47.9 CF% and 5 take-aways. Few players in the NHL allowed more shots-against per minute of ice time. He also spent a decent amount of time in the penalty box.
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
On the other hand, Dermott was phenomenal in his rookie campaign in Toronto. He registered a 15:60 TOI/60. He did make the most of it though as he had a high CF% of 55.0. .
As mentioned earlier, my recommendation would be to move Zaitsev to the third line and see how Dermott and him play together. If it doesn’t work out too well, don’t fret as it’s only your third defensive pairing.
Options
Of course, the Toronto Maple Leafs have several options when looking for a right handed defensemen. The two UFAs that I think would be a good fit are John Carlson of the Washington Capitals and Cody Franson of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Prior to being sent down to the AHL, Franson was stellar on the blue line in Chicago. In 23 games played, he had a 59.9 CF%, 18 hits and 18 blocks. He’s also familiar with the Toronto media scene as he played 3.5 seasons in Toronto. Additionally, he would be a very inexpensive option.
Next: Alternative Forward Grades
Carlson would be a great fit in Toronto as well, but he would be very expensive to land. That said, Leafs fans who don’t embrace Gardiner aren’t going to like Carlson either. He had his best season in the NHL as he totaled 15 goals and 53 assists in Washington.
stats from NHL.com and hockey-reference.com