The Glorious Return of the Maple Leafs Best Defenseman

The Toronto Maple Leafs had a great record without Auston Matthews, but they managed to ride some crazy-hot goalies to so many victories while he was out that it didn't seem like they missed him at all.

But then Jake McCabe was hit in the neck with a shot, and the Maple Leafs were suddenly without their best defenseman for five games.

Much like when Matthews was out, it showed. But unlike when Matthews was out, they actually lost a couple of games, so people noticed.

McCabe returned to the lineup on Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks, and the Leafs subsequently played their best game of the year. I doubt it was a coincidence. (stats naturalstattrick.com).

The Glorious Return of the Maple Leafs Best Defenseman

The trade that brought McCabe to Toronto was always a steal because he was playing for only a $2 million cap hit, but this year he has morphed into a special player.

It's not that he was bad before - he was frequently great - but he'd sometimes have these games where he seemed virtually unplayable mixed in with games where he looked like the most underrated player in the NHL.

This year he's found consistency with Chris Tanev to form what has been probably the best defensive pairing in the NHL. Overall, they don't score enough to be the NHL's best pairing, but from a defensive standpoint, it doesn't seem like anyone else is close.

Without McCabe in the lineup, Tanev struggled with Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

When paired with McCabe, Tanev is winning his minutes 11-6 and has a 56% Expected Goals rating. Those are elite numbers, posted over very hard minutes.

When paired with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Tanev's minutes are tied 3-3 and his Expected Goals rating drops down to to 43%.

That is just an absolutely crazy drop-off that shows not only how good the Tanev/McCabe pairing is, but also how much of that is based on what Jake McCabe is bringing to the table.

The Maple Leafs are winning Jake McCabes minutes 20-9 which is nearly 70% of the total goals, and this is because the Leafs allow almost no dangerous chances when he's on the ice. The Leafs have scored 15 times on a high-danger chance when McCabe has been on the ice, and allowed just one goal against that was off a dangerous chance.

Jake McCabe won't win the Norris because he doesn't score enough points, but if the season ended today, it would be fair to at least rank him in the top three or five. I was wrong to say the Leafs shouldn't have signed him to an extension. At this point I'd hate to see what their team looks like without him.