Toronto Maple Leafs Blueline Targets: Tobias Enstrom
When identifying the positional strength of the Toronto Maple Leafs, defence is among the last examples mentioned.
All of planet earth is wise to the fact that Toronto’s blueline could use some tweaking. And while numbers hint towards the group not being quite as incompetent as public perception suggests, an upgrade or two is needed.
Unfortunately, the remaining crop of UFA defencemen is shockingly thin. So dire are circumstances, that we now live in a world where Brooks Orpik and Paul Martin headline the top options still available.
Yeah, it’s bleak.
So, if Kyle Dubas intends on upgrading this portion of his lineup, he’ll need to get creative. Thankfully, creativity appears to be his strong suit. Bringing in a defenceman between now and training camp won’t be done via a big money contract. And it certainly won’t feature a promised role in the top-6 either.
Rather, a combination of short-term show-me deals and PTO’s are Dubas’ most likely avenue. They aren’t flashy. But, the risk is decidedly low.
In the days to come, I’ll be identifying a few potential bargain bin adds who the Leafs should take a flyer on. We begin today with Tobias Enstrom.
Current Position
It wasn’t all that long ago when Enstrom stood as a testament to the perseverance of smaller players.
Bursting onto the scene at height of the “grit-era”, Enstrom’s odds were stacked against him from the outset. As an 8th round selection of the Atlanta Thrashers, it’s a miracle the 33-year-old even broached the NHL in the first.
During a period which spanned 2007-08 to 2013-14, Enstrom’s point totals fell between 30-51. Splendid production for a blueliner, the bulk of which came alongside hulking partner Dustin Byfuglien.
Lately, things haven’t gone as well.
In fact, 23 points serve as the peak of what Enstrom has managed following his offensive gold rush. Declining annually, his struggles were punctuated this past season as his point total bottomed out to just 6.
Moreso, it was his listing as a healthy scratched prior to Winnepeg’s must-win Conference Final game five versus Vegas in the playoffs which played dual roles of rock bottom and last straw. With his value now at the lowest point of his career, Enstrom seeks a fresh start for 2018.
Enter the Maple Leafs.
Possession
From a possession standpoint, 2017-18 was actually Enstrom’s most productive campaign in years. With the caveat being he only played 43 games.
Regardless, Enstrom proved himself as a highly effective performer at even strength, with his CF/60 topping out at 52.2%. That mark came to rest as his best since 2015, where he produced an identical 52.2% .
What elevates Enstrom’s most recent performance from years past, however, is his play in relation to his teammates. While the two years may appear indistinguishable on the surface, 2015 came underlined with a Corsi rel% of just 0.4, wilting in juxtaposition to 2017’s 4.3.
It seems as if the general numbers paint Enstrom as more of a puller rather than a dragger. Although, delving into how impactful his presence was on specific teammates should unearth a further degree of accuracy.
With 607:10 of ice time together last season, it’s Byfuglien who served as Enstrom’s most common running mate by a wide margin. The two cumulated with a CF/60 of 53.3%, making up an
effective possession pairing. It’s in their time apart where the numbers tell a different story.
Away from Byfuglien, Enstrom’s mark dipped to 48.33%, which is an expected occurrence. Byfuglien just so happens to be pretty good at this whole hockey thing. This only makes it more notable that Byfuglien felt Enstrom’s absence as well. To a slightly higher degree, in fact. Away from his long-time sidekick, Buff’s metric dipped to a 46.53%.
There are certainly more factors at play here.
Even strength corsi is far from the lone metric used to judge a player’s effectiveness. Not to mention that Byfuglien not only played more games than Enstrom, he logged tougher minutes in the latter’s absence as well. Something which undoubtedly influenced those totals as well.
The numbers don’t reveal Enstrom as an undervalued top-4 gem. And that’s ok. Even so, it’s important to note how they variate.
Scoring Chances
Enstrom further demonstrated an innate ability to generate scoring chances in 2017-18 as well. A factoid that raises eyebrows when considering how lacklustre his point production ended up being.
The primary on-ice goal of a defenceman is to prevent opponents from scoring. While Enstrom has never been a defensive savant, the good outweighs the bad whenever he hops the bench.
Last season, Enstrom found himself on the ice for a total of 277 scoring chances for and 215 against. A slightly above average PDO of 101.8 may have somewhat helped in that regard. But, the fact remains that the puck wound up in the opposing net more than his own.
Examining high danger goals reveals that Enstrom falls in the green there as well. One the ice for 15 HD goals for, compared to 9 against, his HDGF% levelled out to 62.50%. Again, this is a small sample size to draw from. Nonetheless, it hints at a positive on-ice impact.
Role
As is the case in most areas of life, a hitch in the giddy-up exists. In Enstrom’s case, it’s that he happens to be left-handed, a position in which the Leafs possess extreme organizational surplus.
So, where does he play? There are a few options.
Namely, Enstrom could likely be had for a deal in the vein of Connor Carrick’s at $1.3 million. In fact, he might not even get that. With a one-year window of available cap space, the Leafs are in a position to easily handle sending that much salary to the press box in case of injury.
A defined role may not exist for Enstrom at the present moment, but there’s something to be said for betting on a player set to prove his doubters wrong. Enstrom was clearly jilted by the way Winnipeg treated him towards the end of the season and into the playoffs.
He may be in for a revenge year.
Regardless, it’s better having a surplus of useful players than none at all. If Enstrom works out, great! He gives you effective defensive production at a fraction of market cost. If he falters, no harm done.
Next: With John Tavares, A New Era Begins
Thanks for reading!
Stats courtesy of hockeyreference.com & naturalstatrick.com