Season Review: The Defensive Core

          After analyzing the leafs goaltending situation, we can now identify what needs to be done to this defensive core as it is in dire need of a face lift. There are a number of different issues with this group of defence men that need to be address this offseason. As I stated in my previous blog, The Toronto Maple Leafs were on the verge of setting a record for the most shots allowed by one team over an 82-game season. The Leafs were outshot by their opponent in 66 of their 82 games! Thats a whopping 80 percent of their games played,  The Toronto Maple Leafs were out played 80 percent of the time! If you watched one minute of any Leaf game this season it was abundantly clear that defence was an issue, So lets review each member of the defensive core to try and fix what is ailing this hockey club.

                                                                                 

      Lets begin with number 4, Cody Franson, The 26 year-old played in his third season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. His season could easily be summarized as, underachieving. Cody Franson has a ton of potential but struggles with consistency.  In 79 games last season, Franson notched 5 goals and 28 assists for a career high 33-points. However, Franson had monumental struggles defensively, along with his career high in points, he had a career year in the +/- category posted an awful -20. Franson posted the lowest Plus-Minus of all defence men on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Franson is currently entering this offseason as Restricted Free Agent, The potential for Franson is still there. He is a big defence men with good offensive production. If he can work on his skating and defensive play he is a lock for next season.


      Jake Gardiner is a polarizing figure with Toronto Maple Leaf fans, One minute we are praising him and the next, he cant get out of town fast enough. Gardiner will be entering his fourth year with the Leafs, if he survives this offseason as trade rumours are rapidly swirling around the 23 year-old. Just like Franson, Gardiner posted a career high in points - 31points. However, Gardiner is viewed as an offensive defence man that can be a force from the back end, this kind of performance is expected. Gardiner struggled to find a permanent partner throughout the beginning of the season, however he settled in nicely in the latter half of the season. My view point on Gardiner is this, He is only 23 years-old and is loaded with potential. There is no use in trading him away, unless you are getting an established young defence man that can have a major impact on the game. Someone like Alex Pietrangelo, but St.Louis will never let go of Pietrangelo. So in Short, The Toronto Maple Leafs need to offer Gardiner an extension that sees him stay a Maple Leaf for a long time.

       Morgan Rielly looks to be the face of the Toronto Maple Leafs future. The Rookie had a really solid year posting 27 points, the 20 year-old drafted 5th overall in 2013, played 73 games in his rookie season, forcing Carlyle to play him with his exceptional offensive play and decent defensive play. Since it is Rielly's rookie year, I do not want to over analyze his play as its only going to get better from here. Morgan Rielly is going to be the face of the defensive core and carry this team to the long awaited Stanley Cup.

      Tim Gleason is like a breath of fresh air to leaf fans, The big defence man brings size and grit to the backend. Gleason, 6-feet 217 pounds, brought truculence to a rather soft backend, you would often see Gleason battling in front of the net or getting in the shooting lanes sacrificing his body to block a few shots. The Leafs have lacked that grittiness for many years, hopefully they have found it in Gleason. Lets hope Gleason's style of play inspires the rest of this defensive core. Gleason should be back next season and rightfully deserves more playing time, However, the Leafs are tightly pressed against the salary cap and Gleason's 4 million cap hit is a tough pill to swallow.

      Carl Gunnarsson might just be the most underrated defence man on this team. Gunnarsson posted, 17 points and lead the Leafs in plus-minus at +12. Gunnarsson plays against the top offensive line of every team the Leafs play. He thrives under the shutdown role but at times struggles to keep pace with the top offensive guns of the other team. Carl would be a perfect number 3 or 4 defence man, it would allow him to play more effectively against a teams second or third line. Gunnarsson has great value as his cap hit for the next three years is 3.150 Million per year. The leafs would be wise to keep this super Swede defence man as he is a steady stay-at-home defence man. 

       Dion Phaneuf, Is there a more polarizing figure in the NHL? The captain faces an absurd amount of criticism, some of which he deserves but some he gets just because of his name. Now, I will not sit here and say Dion Phaneuf is the best captain the leafs have ever had, but Im not going to say that he is the worst Captain the Leafs ever had. In the 2013-2014 season, Phaneuf notched 31-points, nothing spectacular but the whole defence core struggled with offence. For most of the season, Dion was up and around +18, while playing against the toughest opponents the leafs faced on any given night, However, Dion finished the season with a +2. That needs to be improved if Dion wants to make himself a true number 1 defence man in this league. I always chuckle at people who want the Leafs to trade Phaneuf, Whose going to log his minutes? Who will be put up against the opposing teams number one line? While Phaneuf isnt going to win a Norris trophy he is the best option the Toronto Maple Leafs have. Why is it that we have to trade Phaneuf? Why cant we just build around him? At best he is a number 2 defence man closer to a number three, but hes playing with a bunch of number six's. The Leafs plan to build around Kessel up front and Bernier in net, So why cant we build around Phaneuf on the blue line? While Dion has been in Toronto for 5 years, he has never been paired up with someone better than Carl Gunnarsson. While Gunnarsson is good, he is not a top pairing defence man. Phaneuf needs to take a step back and let someone else come here and take on the top defence man title, Phaneuf is much more suited for a less responsible role. 

         So what do we take from this? The Toronto Maple Leafs need to make it their offseason goal, to bolster this backend and find a true number one defence man that can accompany Dion Phaneuf. If the Leafs can do that, they can assure themselves that they will return to Stanley Cup Playoffs and compete for the Best trophy in Professional Sports, The Stanley Cup. It should be an interesting offseason in Toronto. 



All Stats are courtesy of ww.NHL.com and www.hockeydb.com
All Salary related information is courtesy of www.capgeek.com