The Toronto Maple Leafs Quarter-Century Lineup
Defencemen
I decided to symbolically separate each pairing up into their respective eras with Kaberle-McCabe being a dominant top pair for the Maple Leafs throughout the 2000’s. They rank second and third in scoring amongst blue-liners so far this century and even with how much flack they took during their tenures with the blue and white, they are both two of the better defenders this team has seen and one of the best pairings.
Is including Jake Gardiner and/or Dion Phaneuf as two of the best Maple Leafs defencemen over the past 25 years a controversial take? They both rank top five in games played and points by defenders. In Gardiner’s case, he is also one of the most valuable defenders the team has seen in terms of his underlying numbers since advanced stats began being tracked in 2007-08. Phaneuf is an almost exact opposite situation but regardless, he is deserving. He spent five and a half seasons as captain for the Leafs and took the brunt of a lot of verbal abuse from fans and media alike.
Muzzin-Rielly, although they were only an actual pairing briefly, they represent the two best defencemen of the Matthews era. Jake Muzzin’s career was sadly cut short due to injuries but make no mistake, he was arguably the best defender on the team the day he as acquired until his final season or two when he broke down from injuries. His partner, Morgan Rielly will go down as one of the greatest in Leafs history and projects to finish at or near the top of almost every record for blueliners.
The two extra defenders are TJ Brodie and Cody Franson, two deserving picks in my opinion. Brodie, despite declining in his final season was by far the best partner that Rielly has had for an extended period of time. He was a stabilizing figure on the backend and his defensive stick and his defense of 2-on-1's was iconic, making him possibly the best defensive-defender over the past 25 years.
Franson, had he played on a more structured and complete blueline, would be remembered much more fondly. He was not the most fleet of foot but was a very adept puck-mover and play-driver, leading the club's blueline in points for three straight seasons. This includes the 2014-15 season where he played only 55 games and was traded part-way through.
Kaberle - Brian McCabe
Gardiner - Phaneuf
Muzzin - Rielly
Ex. Brodie, Franson