Toronto Maple Leafs: The Strength of a Point-Scoring Defense

The Toronto Maple Leafs are better defensively than everyone thinks.

When people think of the Toronto Maple Leafs, they think of a team that’s good offensively, but not defensively. This shouldn’t be surprising. After all, the stereotypical definitions of good offenses and defenses are exactly how they sound. An offense should be talented offensively, and a defense should be talented defensively.

Forwards are expected to score because they happen to be at the front of the ice. Defensemen are expected to defend because they happen to be at the back of the ice. However, the key to winning a hockey game is very different from these simplistic ideas.

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To win, you need to have talented defensively and offensively. Whether that comes from the forwards or defensemen doesn’t really matter. If your defense is determined by a score out of 100, for example, the score doesn’t care who does the defending. The score just cares about how well your entire team defends.

For example, just look at the Nashville Predators. They already have a good forwards corps. Their defense, while also gifted defensively, contributes significantly to their scoring totals.

Roman Josi, P.K. Subban, Ryan Ellis, and even Mattias Ekholm were point scorers last season. Having a good all-around player is so under-rated. It’s what makes the Predators one of the best teams in the league.

The Leafs are like the Predators, although, obviously, to a lesser extent. Although many will point to the likes of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and now John Tavares for the Leafs’ point totals, the defensemen deserve a share of the credit.

Although people probably don’t give the Leafs enough credit for defensive talent, the offensive ability of the Leafs’ defensemen is what pushes them over the edge into being considered a great team offensively.

Leafs’ offensive defensemen

The best examples of these unique talents, are Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly. These two really add an additional offensive layer to the Leafs. Let’s take a look at Gardiner first.

A large section of fans still think that Gardiner is a defensive liability, unfortunately, which is why he scores so many points, they’ll say. He leaves the defensive zone, is careless with the puck, and cherry picks in the neutral zone.

Now, before his offensive abilities are addressed, this still isn’t true. He is fantastic at getting the puck out of the zone, and is decent at preventing the puck from entering the defensive zone.

Gardiner scored 52 points last season. He also had the most ice time at an average of 22:32 per game, and perhaps deservingly so. He is obviously a gifted point scorer, and despite popular opinion, a good defender.

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Once he gets into the offensive zone, he also appears to be good at creating opportunities. He helps to contribute an above-average 61 shots per minutes (more than a shot per minute) and has a with-possession zone entry percentage of 67 percent.

Really, Gardiner is a good all-around player, and it’s sad how few acknowledge it. Next up, is Morgan Rielly. He is certainly better-liked, but he has his critics here and there. He also finished with 52 points last season, but played less than Gardiner; an average of 21:36 per game.

Underrated as Gardiner is, Rielly is the best overall defenseman on the Leafs. He contributes 83 shots per 60 minutes and has a with-possession zone entry percentage of 91%. Another good all-around player, Rielly displays talent all over the ice.

The future of the NHL is in all-around players. Maybe he didn’t have the best pre-season, but Borgman far out-performed Ron Hainsey and Nikita Zaitsev last season. Perhaps a move needs to be made.

So, anyways, the Leafs have some offensive talent in their defensemen. What’s the point?

Conclusion

So, this article was just a large advocate for defensive experimentation on the Leafs. Hainsey and Zaitsev weren’t so great last season, and Hainsey still looks a bit rusty. Well, the Leafs need more players like Gardiner and Rielly, who play all over the ice.

Borgman has shown talent, Rosen has to a lesser extent and Roman Polak is gone now. The Leafs have plenty of room to experiment with Borgman and Rosen. If you can find a player who plays effectively on either side of the ice, you’re set. There are few things more valuable in a hockey game.

They have a solid start in Gardiner and Rielly, so why not sit Hainsey for a bit to give someone like Borgman a chance? If it doesn’t work out, not much is lost. Hainsey certainly shouldn’t be a top pairing defenseman, and more offensive-minded defensemen will get a shot.

The Leafs aren’t superb defensively, that much has been conceded. Why not experiment with replacing inefficiencies, to maximize Toronto’s greatest talent – its scoring ability?

If the Leafs are going to be contenders, it’s not going to be through the defense. It’s going to be through out-scoring a lot of problems. If defensemen with offensive capabilities like Borgman are given a chance, the Toronto will have a better team.

Tableau tool: https://public.tableau.com/profile/christopher.turtoro#!/vizhome/2-yearA3ZPlayerComps/ComparisonDashboard