It’s been about a month that the Toronto Maple Leafs have played without the services of their grizzled veteran defenceman, Mark Giordano. The 40-year-old has been out of the lineup since late November with a broken finger and up until last Friday has only skated a few times during the team’s morning skates.
That said, he participated in his first full skate with the team on Dec. 22 and has been penciled in for the team’s upcoming contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 29 — a return that will certainly lead to some tough decisions for head coach Sheldon Keefe and the Maple Leafs.
Throughout the season so far, the Maple Leafs have dealt with a number of injuries on their blue line, including missed time from Timothy Liljegren, Conor Timmins and Giordano among others. During that time, the team has been forced to lean on their call-ups in the hopes of discovering some much needed depth within their system.
According to Keefe, that depth has provided just what the team’s needed, making this next decision even more difficult.
Lagesson, Benoit on Maple Leafs’ Bubble
In the absence of their starting six, the Maple Leafs have relied heavily on William Lagesson and Simon Benoit to fill the voids on the blue line. Benoit has played 18 games so far for the team, while Lagesson has suited up in 21 games this season.
Neither one has necessarily been brought in to support offensively and that’s understood by both players as they’ve played crucial roles in eating minutes, controlling the physical play in their own end and shutting things down defensively.
As such, Lagesson has averaged 15 minutes per game with three assists to show for it. He sits within the top-10 on the team in both hits and blocked shots and has contributed on the penalty kill playing over 30 minutes down a man.
Like Lagesson, Benoit has played a key role in making the Maple Leafs more of a physical presence. He’s within the team’s top-10 in both blocked shots and hits and has averaged just under 15 minutes of ice-time over his 18 games.
Even Keefe noted how these depth players have slotted in nicely with regulars out of the lineup.
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“Benoit and Lagesson, in particular, are two guys that were new to us and didn’t know what to exactly expect from them. They’ve just gotten better and better the more that they’re played and they’re competitive guys that, I’ve thought, have helped us defensively. It’s been nice that those guys have come up and now you’re making tough lineup decisions,” said Keefe regarding the two call-ups.
However, with Giordano set to return, one of these players is likely on heading back to the AHL for the time being.
Giordano Brings Experience, Stability Back to Maple Leafs Lineup
While it’s not the best place to be in, having to make a lineup decision like Keefe has to, it is promising to see the Maple Leafs get Giordano back into the lineup.
The 18-year veteran has 1,122 regular season games under his belt and adds a sprinkle of offence back onto the Maple Leafs’ blue line, having tallied 573 points over his career. The team will lose some physicality, as Giordano sits just outside the team’s top-10 in that category, they do get back the NHL’s all-time leader in blocked shots (2,082) — who has 50 blocked shots in 20 games this season.
On top of that, the former Norris Trophy winner brings with him 41 games of playoff experience, something the Maple Leafs will need as they try to find consistency in the second half of the season when it comes to getting it done in regulation.
His return also comes with some more questions for the team. Not only will they have to make some tough decisions with their current lineup, but the team has been rumoured to be in the market for a defenceman. Giordano’s return to the lineup should help the team finalize their trade direction ahead of the deadline if they can figure out what their needs are based on a healthy lineup.
If Giordano can come back and the Maple Leafs can solidify their play outside of the crease, the focus might move more to a goaltender with Joseph Woll still out of the lineup.
Regardless of the outcome, the Maple Leafs will surely welcome Giordano back with open arms on Friday against the lowly Blue Jackets. As of now, based on the practice lines, Lagesson looks to be the odd man out — teamed up with Timmins as the extras. That, however, remains to be seen.