Toronto Maple Leafs: Will Borgman Make The Team?

The Toronto Maple Leafs coaching staff will be evaluating left-handed defenseman, Andreas Borgman in training camp and deciding whether he’ll be on the opening night roster or not.

Last season, Borgman played in 48 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was up with the Maple Leafs between October 4, 2017, to February 1, 2018.

After an early February tilt with the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, the Maple Leafs front office felt that he’d be better off joining the Toronto Marlies for the rest of the season to develop under Sheldon Keefe.

Prior to being sent down to the AHL, he registered 3 goals, 8 assists, 28 PIM, 13:41 ATOI, 50.4 CF%, 58.91 CF/60, 121 hits, 36 blocks and 13 takeaways. All-in-all, he wasn’t terrible with the Maple Leafs last season, but he needed a lot of improvement.

One of the more noticeable issues with the Stockholm, Sweden native is that he took a lot of penalties. While the Toronto Maple Leafs’ penalty kill wasn’t terrible last year, you still don’t want to be taking a ton of penalties. Additionally, Borgman wasn’t strong on the penalty kill.

With a few elements of his game to work on, it seemed like joining the Marlies would be the best fit for the young Swede.

Analysis From Mike Stephens

Prior to writing this post, I felt that it would make the most sense for me to speak with my fellow Editor in Leaf colleague, and Managing Co-Editor, Mike Stephens (@mikeystephens81).

As many of you know, Stephens is the Toronto Marlies beat writer, covering every single game at the Coca-Cola Coliseum.

I sat down with Mike to understand if he felt that Borgman’s development at the AHL level was going well. In addition, I wanted to talk to him and see if he felt that Borgman’s stint with the Marlies had prepared him well enough to potentially secure a spot on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ opening night lineup.

In my interview with Stephens, I asked him whether his time under Keefe and the Marlies coaching staff was a productive one for Borgman. Stephens shared his thoughts in the below quote.

"The entire reason for why Borgman was sent down last year was simple; to develop as a penalty killer. To succeed in a Babcock-constructed lineup, a well rounded skill-set is required, and Borgman did not have one. I think he’s a terrifically talented player who showed flashes of bright potential in the NHL, but his ceiling could extend much higher if he were to add another aspect to his arsenal. Borgman had a rough showing on the Marlies last year. He was clearly not thrilled to be there, and somehow looked a step behind the play in most situations. He did show slight improvement in heavy penalty kill minutes, but ultimately he didn’t take the step he was expected to."

Ultimately, Borgman needs to get better, but the good news is that he has plenty of time to be properly developed. He shouldn’t be rushed. If Borgman can’t join the Toronto Maple Leafs team tomorrow and provide Mike Babcock with a multi-dimensional defenseman, he’ll be sitting up in the press box night after night.

While Borgman might not have been enthusiastic about playing in the AHL, perhaps winning the Calder Cup with the Marlies will have changed his tune about playing in the minor league. I’m sure that while playing in the AHL isn’t the same as playing at the NHL, he’s probably happier playing consistently than sitting next to the TSN or Rogers Sportsnet crew.

Later on in my conversation with Stephens, he felt that Borgman just wasn’t ready for primetime. The Toronto Maple Leafs have a ton of defensive depth in the AHL. Calle Rosen, Timothy Liljegren, Martin Marincin and Justin Holl will be competing alongside Borgman in pre-season for a chance to crack the opening night lineup.

For Borgman to crack into the lineup, he’d need to have an excellent pre-season. He would need to show that he can not only be physical when needed, but he’d need to show that he can be pivotal on the penalty kill. Unfortunately for Borgman, he won’t see a ton of ice-time due to the number of defensemen in the organization and the number of pre-season games.

If he’s going to make the cut, he needs to make the most of his ice-time. In addition, he would also likely need Babcock to place Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly on the same defensive line to open up another slot on the left-hand side.

While there isn’t a great chance that Borgman will be in the lineup on October 3rd when the Maple Leafs take on the Montreal Canadiens, it wouldn’t be the worst thing for Borgman to spend a bit more time with the Marlies. If he’s focused on improving his game, he could potentially be called up down the stretch, but he really needs to focus on how to become a more well-rounded defenseman.

Even though he could learn how to be more well-rounded under Babcock, the Maple Leafs shouldn’t rely on a defenseman who isn’t truly ready. The Maple Leafs have a chance to bring home the Stanley Cup this year and carrying some defenseman who isn’t ready could hurt their chances.

Stats courtesy of NHL.com, hockey-reference.com and naturalstattrick.com