ROTEAU THE HOCKEY NEWS UPDATED JUNE 18, 2024 5:35 PM
Calle Jarnkrok, Morgan Rielly and TJ BrodieJerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports Veteran NHL coach Guy Boucher parted ways with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, leading to speculation about what will happen to their power play. That speculation includes whether former NHL player Marc Savard will replace Boucher and take charge of Toronto’s man advantage under new coach Craig Berube. While everything the Maple Leafs do goes under the microscope in Leafs-crazed Toronto, focusing on Boucher really distracts from their main issue – namely, their defensive play and their penalty kill. The Leafs’ power play was indeed terrible in their first-round loss to Boston, going 1-for-21. That said, their power play was seventh-best in the regular season at 24 percent. On the other hand, their penalty kill was 23rd overall in the regular season at 76.9 percent. And in the post-season, it was an abysmal 13th out of 16 teams at 64.7 percent. In many cases, special teams are the difference between winning and losing rounds. The Maple Leafs’ inability to defend properly against Boston was ultimately their downfall.
And with Toronto allowing 261 goals against in the regular season, the second-most among teams that made the playoffs, defense is one of the main things that cost coach Sheldon Keefe his job. That has to be the focus of GM Brad Treliving in the off-season. Certainly, that includes Toronto’s goaltending, which remains in flux until further notice. But the biggest area of concern for the Leafs is their blueline. WHICH DEFENSEMEN WILL STAY OR GO? We suspect Morgan Rielly will remain a Leaf.
He’s beloved by Leafs management, is on a team-friendly contract worth $7.5 million per season and has a full no-movement clause. Rielly isn’t a Norris Trophy candidate, but his loyalty to the organization means he will stick around. Similarly, the Leafs will bring back veteran Jake McCabe and 2023-24 revelation Simon Benoit. McCabe’s $2-million cap hit makes him one of the better bargains in the NHL, while Benoit’s $1.35-million cap hit and his physicality are extremely valuable for the Leafs. Let’s presume blueliner – and healthy scratch in the playoffs – Timothy Liljegren is traded, while the contracts of TJ Brodie, John Klingberg, Mark Giordano and Ilya Lyubushkin aren’t renewed. That would leave Toronto with three defense spots opening up.
WHICH DEFENSEMEN COULD FILL IN THE REST OF THE BLUELINE?
One of those spots might be filled by youngster (and late-season acquisition) Cade Webber, who has the 6-foot-6 frame to entice Berube to play him as an NHL rookie next year. That still leaves two openings for the defense corps, and Treliving needs to hit a home run with at least one of those spots to give his team a better chance at a Stanley Cup playoff run. Veteran D-man and trade deadline acquisition
Joel Edmundson might take up one of those spots if he agrees to a team-friendly deal, but Toronto still has to acquire a top-pairing blueliner to play alongside Rielly and eat up at least 22 to 25 minutes per game. Maybe that defenseman is veteran Florida defenseman Brandon Montour – a valued right-shot D-man – or maybe it’s one of Hurricanes blueliner Brett Pesce or Brady Skjei. Maybe it’s Vancouver Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Maybe it’s Dallas Stars D-man Chris Tanev. All five of those five targets are UFAs, so Treliving wouldn’t have to give up anyone off Toronto’s roster to acquire them unless he frees cap space with a Mitch Marner trade.
Before the off-season is through, the Leafs’ roster will almost assuredly look notably different than it looks today. But adding a depth forward or changing an assistant coach for a different special teams structure won’t be nearly enough. Treliving must find a way to land a difference-maker on Toronto’s back end. If he doesn’t, and the propaganda message is the Maple Leafs are running it back with more or less the same group of defensemen, fans should be more than a little concerned.
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