In the recent NHL Network ranking of the league’s top 20 blueliners, the Toronto Maple Leafs failed to place a representative on that list. The likeliest candidates for that list would have been Chris Tanev or Morgan Rielly. Nevertheless, they were not included, and even if they were they would be near the bottom.
So, this situation sparked a question in my mind: Assuming the list is accurate, does it even matter that the Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have a top-20 defenseman?
On the whole, I believe it should be a concerning situation. When looking at the top five on the list, Norris Trophy and Stanley Cup winners stand out, and it's well-known since the dawn of hockey anayltics that star players drive play and that it is better to have one star than several above average players.
Cale Makar, the top player, has a Norris and a Cup. Quinn Hughes, number two, has a Norris. Victor Hedman, third, has multiple Norris Trophies and two Cups. Roman Josi, has multiple Norris Trophies. Only Miro Heiskanen at number five lacks a Norris or a Cup.
Even Gustav Forsling ranked an engagement-farming sixth, has a Cup. With that in mind, how concerned should we be that the Toronto Maple Leafs lack a high-end blueliner?
Does it Matter That the Toronto Maple Leafs Don’t Have a Top-20 Defenceman?
On the whole, yes. It matters very much that the Leafs don’t have a Cale Makar or Miro Heiskanen. Just looking at the top ten shows how important such players are to teams.
Think about the Edmonton Oilers. The club placed Evan Bouchard at number nine and Mattias Ekholm at number 16. Now, I’m not thrilled with Ekholm cracking the top 20. But Bouchard is likely way too low and definitely certainly deserves the spot.
So what does this mean? It supports the conclusions of the analytics commuinity and it suggest the Leafs are in trouble because they have built a blue-line with a whole bunch of expensive, average to good players but lack an elite defenseman. Most likely, all teams who do have an elite defenseman have a superior blue-line to the Leafs, which puts them in the 15-20 range in the overall league rankings.
Now, I must admit I’m a big fan of Morgan Rielly. I think he should have been on that list. If Ekholm and Zach Werenski made the list, so should have Rielly, but there is also a huge drop off after the top eight-ten players and Rielly just isn't going be in that startosphere no matter how generious we want to be.
But let’s reality sink in for a minute. The Toronto Maple Leafs can’t boast about having an elite blueliner. Until they get one or two, this issue will matter even more.
The Leafs have an all-world centre, and two elite wingers, but no high-end backends or even a solid starting goaltender.
Perhaps Craig Berube has some magic voodoo juice that can turn Timothy Liljegren into the next Victor Hedman. But until that happens, this discussion won’t go away. The Leafs need a true, number-one NHL defenceman.