When the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they had signed Auston Matthews to a four-year extension, it seemed like the dog days of summer in the NHL ended. It drew a buzz that got all of Leafs Nation excited and gave other fan bases hockey-related news to talk about. We are now less than a month away from the start of NHL training camps, and many cannot wait to see what the new-look Maple Leafs squad can accomplish.
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However, there is still one area that needs to be addressed, and that is the defence core. It definitely didn’t see much improvement; in fact, it could be considered worse. The team saw Luke Schenn, who had a great playoff, leave and sign with the Nashville Predators, as well as Erik Gustafsson, who was a steady depth piece, sign with the New York Rangers. The Maple Leafs were, however, able to add John Klingberg as well as Simon Benoit, but they still lack a true top-pair defenceman to play alongside Morgan Rielly. Nevertheless, let’s take a look at the expected pairings and evaluate them ahead of training camp.
Pairing 1: Morgan Rielly – T.J. Brodie
A Rielly – T.J. Brodie pairing is something that all of Leafs Nation is familiar with. The two have been partners off and on for the better part of two seasons. Brodie is more of a defensive-minded defenceman, which gives Rielly the offensive freedom to join the rush and get involved in the play. With that said, Toronto was a much better team when they had Schenn alongside Rielly, but Brodie can do the job; he has proven that. The two together will be the Maple Leafs’ top pairing and will play a good amount of minutes, matching against the top forward lines.
The hardest question to find an answer to ahead of this season is whether Brodie can be as reliable as he has been in the past. Last season, he struggled with some injuries that forced him to miss some time, but this season, if the same thing happens, the top pairing on the Maple Leafs will be significantly weaker. It could mean that Klingberg moves up with Rielly or Timothy Liljegren, who didn’t play terribly alongside him last season. Nonetheless, it’s not ideal to have your most trusted defenceman, who also has the most chemistry with Rielly, miss a lot of time. Overall, though, this pairing will be the one that both the fans and coaching staff rely on the most to play the big minutes and be on the ice when it matters. That can’t be said for the other two pairings yet, unfortunately, which makes the pressure on the duo way more intense heading into training camp.
Pairing 2: Jake McCabe – John Klingberg
Jake McCabe and Klingberg are what most of Leafs Nation, including myself, have for the second pairing on the Maple Leafs this season. McCabe is a solid defenceman who loves to play the body, especially in open ice. Klingberg is similar to Rielly but struggles more in his own end. He can run a power play with ease as well as make a perfect breakout pass while joining the play. But he can also get caught while joining the rush, which leads to a two-on-one the other way. This is where McCabe needs to be extremely cautious because last season, during his short time with the Maple Leafs, he showed everyone that he too likes to join the rush. Therefore, he needs to know his partner and make the necessary adjustments when those situations arise.
On paper, the pairing seems like it could work. McCabe can adapt to be a more stay-at-home defenceman, and Klingberg is your traditional offensive-minded blueliner; that should work, right? Well, only time will tell, but if these two lack communication when they are out on the ice, there could be a lot of turnovers and odd-man rushes that lead to goals. Of course, it could be the opposite, and they could become a very trusted pairing that contributes at both ends of the ice. But their own individual histories show us that this pairing may be the one that struggles the most and could be the one that is broken up the fastest by Maple Leafs’ head coach Sheldon Keefe.
Pairing 3: Mark Giordano – Timothy Liljegren
Mark Giordano and Liljegren are another pairing that Leafs Nation is used to seeing together. They now have almost an entire season under their belts playing alongside one another, which could help the Maple Leafs this season when it seems like their defence is their Achilles’ heel. But then you look at the two individually. Giordano is a 39-year-old veteran who is used a bit too much by Keefe and lacks foot speed to keep up with the rest of the NHL. As for Liljegren, he has finally found a home on the Maple Leafs’ blue line, but not before he had to change his entire play style. He came up through the system as an offensive presence and has since turned into more of a two-way player. This makes sense due to his lack of playing time and trust early on in his career. Now, though, he is an everyday defender in the NHL who got the short end of the stick during the Maple Leafs playoff run last season.
While he looks to show the team that he should have been in the lineup last April, he also needs to carry the bulk of the load for the team’s third pairing. A lot of people have concerns regarding Giordano and his ability to keep up this season, and with the Maple Leafs having both William Lagesson and Benoit signed, who can both play on the left side, Giordano should expect his minutes to be reduced, and his total number of games played to be lower than last season too. Giordano did a great thing for the team; he took a hometown discount and is playing at $800,000 this season, but he also needs to be okay with a reduction in his playing time, something that the team failed to do last April in the playoffs when he was constantly getting burned by the opposition. This third pairing is going to be determined by how well Liljegren can play and how well he carries the pairing for the first time in his young career.
Depth Defence Options
Conor Timmins is the Maple Leafs’ seventh defenceman. He should look to excel when he gets his chance in the first couple of months of the season. There isn’t a lot of reliable depth on defence in the Maple Leafs organization that is NHL-ready, which means Timmins could be in the lineup a game or two a week depending on injuries. Last season, in a small sample size, he showed that he could produce offensively; he recorded 14 points in 25 games, including a handful of games as a winger on the fourth line due to salary cap issues. If he can play at the level he played at last season, he won’t be a bad option to throw in when someone needs rest.
However, if he struggles at the beginning of the season, he could run the risk of being placed on waivers due to his cap hit of $1.1 million per season. The only issue that Timmins will run into is that he is a right-handed defenceman, and the right side of the Maple Leafs blue line is deeper than the left, meaning his biggest chances to impress will come when there are injuries. If he can adapt and play the left side, he could be the go-to man when Keefe needs someone to fill in.
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Benoit was left unqualified by the Anaheim Ducks and signed by the Maple Leafs. He is a big-bodied defender who loves to put it on the line for his teammates, which is something that the Maple Leafs lack on the back end. He could be utilized well if he can provide a different look than the rest of the team’s defence. Benoit will be this season’s version of Jordie Benn, who was used when they needed him, and when he got his chance, he tried his best to stay in the lineup.
Now, Benoit is in a much different spot than Timmins; he is a left-handed shooter on a much less deep left side. If he can prove to the coaching staff that he deserves to play more than Giordano, he could be the physical presence on the backend that the team is missing. This could make the Maple Leafs harder to play against along with the additions up front with Ryan Reaves, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Max Domi.
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As always, only time will tell what happens with the Maple Leafs defensive core this season. However, we do know that general manager Brad Treliving loves to improve his blue line, meaning that how the defence core starts the season will not be how it ends. Until he does make improvements, though, the Maple Leafs’ back end could be the team’s Achilles’ heel.
