The Maple Leafs Might Already Have Their Blue Line Answer

The Toronto Maple Leafs have spent most of the summer changing their look, but the defence might not need to be overthought. At least, not yet. But how should the team set up its pairings?

---

---

How Should the Maple Leafs Deploy Their Defencemen?

A pretty sensible starting point sits right in front of them. Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev together make a lot of sense. They know how to defend, they are comfortable playing tough minutes, and they are not going to make life easy for anybody trying to get to the net.

Another useful pairing might be McCabe and Darren Raddysh, mostly because it might take a little pressure off Tanev. But there is nothing wrong with going back to McCabe and Tanev. They have been one of Toronto’s better shutdown pairings, and sometimes there is a lot to be said for not fixing something that already works.

Is Morgan Rielly and Darren Raddysh the Odd Couple?

Pairing Rielly with Raddysh gives Toronto a pretty good balance. Rielly can push the puck up the ice and create offence, while Raddysh can provide the steadier, more physical game beside him. Plenty of people are ready to give up on Rielly, but I’m still willing to see what he can do.

Before last season, Rielly had won his five-on-five minutes for eight straight seasons. He is also younger than Oliver Ekman-Larsson and generally better able to handle heavy minutes. That still matters.

Nobody is asking Rielly to be perfect. Toronto just needs him to be dependable, move the puck and help the Leafs get out of trouble when they’re stuck in their own zone. He can still do all of that.

What About the Maple Leafs Third Pairing?

That leaves Ekman-Larsson as the likely option for the third pairing, at least to begin with. The other spot could come down to Troy Stecher, Emil Andrae or Nick Blankenburg. That is probably the only part of the blue line that really needs to sort itself out.

The Maple Leafs still have a game and over a week of practice to figure things out. That gives someone plenty of time to force the coaches’ hand. Until then, I’d go with McCabe and Tanev, Rielly and Raddysh, and Ekman-Larsson alongside whoever wins the final job.

It may not be the flashiest group in the NHL, but it looks balanced. And after all the changes Toronto has made, balanced might be exactly what this defence needs.

Related: What If There’s More to the Maple Leafs Jack Roslovic?