4 Toronto Maple Leafs That Shouldn’t Be on the Playoff Roster

Conor Timmins

Among all of the Leafs defenseman to suit up this season, Conor Timmins had been one of the team’s best defenders in terms of puck possession and controlling play whenever he was on the ice.

At 5-on-5, Timmins has registered a CF% of 57%, SF% of 58%, expected goals rate of 61%, and scoring chances rate of 60%. When the Leafs acquired Timmins from the Arizona Coyotes back in December of 2022, this was pretty much what they expected they were getting from him.

On top of that, despite his limited playing time this season, Timmins has also put up some solid numbers with one goal and eight assists for nine points in 24 games played.

More importantly, in the last ten games that he had suited up for the Blue and White, the Leafs had won eight of them, proving that he must be doing something right and that he was probably their lucky charm as well.

However, once the playoffs roll around, he will likely remain in the press box for the duration of the postseason.

That is because for the Toronto Maple Leafs to have success in the rough and gruelling environment in the playoffs, they need to deploy the right mix of puck-moving defenseman to go along with stay-at-home bruisers to help keep the opposition on their toes.

With Morgan Rielly and Timothy Liljegren fulfilling the role of being elite puck-moving defenders, the Leafs need to fill the rest of their back end with tough, gritty, big bodies to counter the tenacity and adversity that they will likely face.

As a result, the puck-moving Timmins will not be needed as he is probably even further down the pecking order behind the likes of Simon Benoit and Mark Giordano if an extra body is ever needed.