Toronto Maple Leafs Depth Chart: Part Two – Defense

The Toronto Maple Leafs defense has been a weak spot for the team for many years.

It has been a while since the Toronto Maple Leafs have had a solid top-four patrolling the blue line. I believe the Leafs have a decent looking defense core this season and a few promising defense prospects for the future.

This team has not had a reliable top defensive pair since Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle patrolled the blue line together from 2000 – 2008. The Leafs have tried many different combinations of players since then, but not much has worked.

The closest thing Toronto has had of a top pair was Morgan Rielly and Ron Hainsey from 2017 to 2019.  In the offseason, Leafs GM Kyle Dubas added Zach Bogosian and T.J. Brodie to replace Ceci and Barrie. He also brought in Finnish defenseman Mikko Lehtonen as well as re-signed Travis Dermott.

Toronto Maple Leafs Depth On Defense

Morgan Rielly

Rielly has been a Leafs regular for seven seasons. His first four seasons with the team were average, but during the 2017-18 season with Hainsey as his defense partner, Rielly recorded 52 points in 76 games. The following season was even better for Rielly as he scored 20 goals on his way to recording 72 points in 82 games. (stats hockey-reference.com).

With his most trusted partner gone, Rielly played mostly with Ceci and a few times with Barrie last season, but the results were not the same. Rielly had just 27 points in 47 games last season but never really looked comfortable.

I think that Rielly will start this season paired with the newly signed T.J. Brodie. This defense pair is one that I’m excited about seeing. If Brodie can help Rielly the same way he helped Mark Giordano in Calgary, then we should see a bounce-back season for Rielly.

T.J. Brodie

Before signing as a Free Agent with Toronto, Brodie had spent his entire 10 season career in Calgary with the Flames. This season he will be looking to have a good start on his five-year contract worth $5 million per season.

When training camp opens, he will be looking to grab the vacant spot beside Rielly on the top pair. If he does, I think Rielly will finally have the defense partner he’s always wanted. Having Brodie for the next five years is a huge upgrade for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Jake Muzzin

Ever since Jake Muzzin got traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, he has been the physical presence the team had been lacking. Not known for his offense, Muzzin has still managed to score 39 points in 83 games with the Leafs.

Last season he seemed to pair well with Justin Holl and formed a decent shutdown pair. Although I have heard fans suggest that Muzzin should play with Bogosian this season, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s playing with Holl again.

Zach Bogosian

When the Leafs signed Bogosian this offseason, GM Kyle Dubas was making good on his announcement that he wanted the team to be harder to play against. Having both Muzzin and Bogosian on the blueline makes Toronto a more physical team.

Last season, Bogosian went from barely being able to stay in the Buffalo Sabres lineup to being a physically dominating presence that helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup. If he can play for the Leafs the same way he did for Tampa, then he will get plenty of ice time. We have to hope we don’t get the Bogosian that struggled in Buffalo.

Justin Holl

Last season was Holl’s first full season with the Leafs after bouncing back and forth between the Leafs and Marlies since the 2015-16 season. Holl had his ups and downs last season, but I think he paired well with Muzzin.

Holl will be looking to improve on last season and continue to develop into a steady shutdown defenseman. If he is paired with Muzzin again, then partner familiarity will make things easier.

Travis Dermott

Although Dermott had an off-year last season, he is still only 23 years old. He will be looking to start fresh again once training camp opens. So far, he has recorded 41 points in 157 games for the Maple Leafs.

Dermott was one of the Toronto Maple Leafs key Restricted Free Agents (RFA) this offseason that they needed to re-sign. The team was able to get Dermott re-signed for one year at $874,125 which, will keep him as an RFA for the next offseason.

Rasmus Sandin

The Leafs’ top defensive prospect is Rasmus Sandin, and the future is bright for this young Swede. After putting up 28 points in 44 games for the Marlies during the 2018-19 season, Sandin split time between the Marlies and Leafs last season. With the Marlies, he recorded 15 points in 21 games, and with the Leafs, he had eight points in 28 games.

During last season’s World Junior Championship, Sandin picked up 10 points in seven games to help team Sweden win the Bronze.

This season he will look to take a step forward and become a full-time Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman. He will most likely be battling Dermott for playing time in the top six. When he gets into the lineup, he’ll have to play well if he wants to stay in the lineup.

Mikko Lehtonen

The Leafs signed Lehtonen back in May to a one-year deal worth $925,000, just like they did with Ilya Mikheyev the season before. Toronto was one of many teams interested in Lehtonen after the Finnish born player recorded 49 points in 60 games for Jokerit of the KHL.

He was the best European defenseman free agent available, and the Leafs are hoping he helps make the team better. Before the Leafs signed Brodie, the thinking was that maybe the Leafs would try to play Lehtonen with Rielly, but now I don’t see that happening. He will likely move up and down between the second and third pairs.

Toronto Maple Leafs Defensemen On The Bubble

To go along with the eight defensemen I mentioned above, the Leafs have a few other defensemen who can step in and play right away should injuries surface.

Those that can step in and play right away are Calle Rosen, Martin Marincin, and to a lesser extent, Timothy Liljegren. Marincin has played in 227 NHL games, followed by Rosen at 20 and Liljegren at 11 games.

With these three added to the eight, I already mentioned above, that’s 11 defensemen the Leafs have who can play in the NHL. They haven’t had a luxury like this for as long as I can remember.