Defense
Maybe it was because there was no elite #1, Norris-caliber defenseman on the roster but it’s easy to forget how strong and capable this group was. Todd Gill and Dave Ellet were top-notch two-way defensemen who both hit the 40-point plateau (in just 70 games).
Bob Rouse, Sylvain Lefebvre and Jamie Macoun didn’t contribute much offense but all were very effective defensive players. And Dimitri Mironov was no slouch either. He excelled at both ends of the ice and ultimately amassed 9 goals and 21 points in 38 career playoff games with Toronto.
Goaltending
The emergence of 21 year-old rookie Felix Potvin paved the way for Fletcher to pull off that ridiculously lopsided Andreychuk acquisition and Potvin, with the starter reins at his disposal, didn’t disappoint.
His GAA was 2.50, compared to Fuhr’s 3.13 and he finished with a .910 save % (Fuhr’s had been .895). Potvin also had a GSAA (goals saved above average) of 32, roughly 4 times better than Fuhr’s (For reference, Frederik Andersen has never had a GSAA above 15).
Darren Puppa wasn’t a factor in the playoffs but he did put up nice numbers in the regular season in the back-up role, going 6-2 with a .922 save %.