The current iteration of the Leafs blueline is the best we’ve seen in far, far too long. The group has solid size and their strength is their ability to defend, unlike previous groups that were too small and skilled to compete against bigger opponents. It’s for this reason that I wouldn’t be disappointed if they did little to nothing to try to improve before the 2025-26 season begins.
With Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson representing defenders that can join the rush, Tanev and McCabe being great defensively while also being adept at exiting the zone and Brandon Carlo and Simon Benoit being your true stay at home defenders, there’s a mixture of skills there. It’s that mixture, while not losing their defense-first mentality, that makes them effective.
My only concern was/is Morgan Rielly’s inability to adapt to Craig Berube’s system. He admitted to his struggles with the system on multiple occasions last year and I’ll say again, that for a veteran defender in his 12th NHL season to struggle with any system after a full campaign is definitely concerning. My theory that he struggled because it was the first system/coach that demanded he defend first, rather than try to move the puck, still holds water.
It’s also worth noting that the entire group of Rielly, Tanev, McCabe, Carlo, Ekman-Larsson, Benoit and Myers are signed here for 2 more seasons at least. The pressure to build on the back end is off, which means that they’re in the enviable position of looking for upgrades, but not having to overpay for them. That, combined with Treliving saying that he’d like a little more mobility from his blueline, is what we’ll use to outline any discussion about adding a defender.
Aaron Ekblad
It’s well known that the Leafs are interested in Ekblad. The only real question is if he’ll come to terms with the Florida Panthers before the clock runs out. The rumour surrounding that process is that the Panthers have offered him a deal that would pay him somewhere between 6 and 7 million dollars per season, while the former 1st overall selection would like to stay at, or around his current salary of $7.5M per year. I’m sure that the Leafs (as well as other teams) would be happy to pay Ekblad at that rate or higher, which begs the question of if the Windsor, Ontario native would be willing to come home to play hockey for a few years.
The thing that Ekblad would bring to the table that the Leafs are missing is a heavy shot from the blueline, as well as being a true all situations defender. At the moment OEL probably has their hardest shot, while Rielly finished the year with 7 goals, which lead the defense here. While Ekblad does have an effective shot, he has scored just 7 goals over the past two seasons. I do wonder if that is his new normal, but at the same time he has only failed to hit double digits in the goal column three times in his eleven NHL seasons. The hope would be that he can get back to his normal goal production, as it would really help a blueline that doesn’t have a lot of offensive punch right now.
The Leafs don’t have a single blueliner that you can trust in all situations and that’s been the case for a very long time. While it’s not a rule, it’s definitely true that Stanley Cup winning teams often have those types of players on the blueline. Ekblad represented that player for the Panthers, as did Seth Jones this year. Before them there was Alex Pietrangelo for Vegas, Cale Makar for Colorado, Victor Hedman for Tampa (x2), Alex Pietrangelo again, but for St. Louis this time, John Carlson for Washington and Kris Letang for Pittsburgh (x2). I could keep going, but I think you get the point, the list is long and includes current or future hall of fame caliber defenders. The only thing that separates Ekblad from those defenders is that, while he logged over 2:33 TOI/GP on both the powerplay and penalty kill this year in the playoffs, he didn’t lead his team in TOI/GP overall, that honour went to Seth Jones. That was also the case last season when they won the Stanley Cup. While he logged heavy minutes on the penalty kill, he didn’t draw in on the powerplay very much and he was 3rd among defenders in TOI/GP, behind Brandon Montour and Gustav Forsling. It’s my theory that the Panthers are willing to play hardball with him right now because they have Seth Jones, who they see as a more appropriate top line defender and he’s locked in at $7.5M for five more years.
All of this is simply to ask, can Aaron Ekblad be a true, #1, go-to defender when the Leafs need him to be?
Considering it isn’t my money, I’d certainly like them to gamble on the answer to that question being yes.
If they added Ekblad to the group, it would also open up some possibilities via trade. Currently they have Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo as right shot defenders and neither are bottom pair players. They also had Oliver Ekman-Larsson playing on the right, his off side, which he did effectively, but right shots on the right side and left shots on the left side is generally the preference among coaches, which means that adding Ekblad would force OEL back to the left and one of Tanev or Carlo to the 3rd pair. While Tanev has a full no-move clause, Carlo (8 team no-trade list) and OEL (16 team no-trade list) could be traded for help up front. Simon Benoit doesn’t possess trade protection and just played very well in the playoffs, which makes him a trade candidate as well, but at 26 years old and signed for 2 more seasons at a palatable $1.35M, I’d suggest keeping the ideal 3rd pair defender for as long as possible.
Lastly, I’d like to point out the fact that if they brought Ekblad in, regardless of if they make a trade or not, they would arguably possess one of, if not the best blueline group in the NHL. For a team to be able to trot out Ekblad, Tanev and Carlo on three different pairs is beyond impressive. In fact, that’s the kind of blueline that wins Stanley Cups.
Ekblad is likely the only defender that I’d talk to if I were making the decisions this year because, again, the blueline isn’t an area of concern, but with the idea in mind that they’d like to add more mobility to the group, we’ll talk about a few more options.
Dante Fabbro
Fabbro (27) is one of the younger UFAs that are set to hit the market this year. Drafted by Nashville in the 1st round, he never really found his footing in Tennessee. This season he was moved to Columbus, where he produced 9 goals and 26pts in 62 games, which represents career high’s in goals and points. Amazingly, he produced that offense with no time on the powerplay, while also logging 1:41 TOI/GP shorthanded. He also played 21:39 TOI/GP overall, which is also a career high. The 6’0″ 190lb right shot defender may want to find himself a similar situation, where he can play big minutes and prove himself, rather than sign with the Leafs, where he’d be a 3rd pair option. If he runs out of options he could see the spotlight of Toronto as a positive, as some players have before him and sign at a discount for the exposure and possibility of a bigger payday down the road.
Henri Jokiharju
Jokiharju was traded from the Buffalo Sabres to the Boston Bruins this season and was gifted a bigger role with the Bruins. While he has never produced a lot of points, he moves the puck fairly well and is an option on the penalty kill. He isn’t the biggest body, at 6’0″ 200lbs and he doesn’t do any one thing particularly well, but as far as a depth piece goes, he is above average.
John Klingberg
He’s out there and before he signed with the Edmonton Oilers it was rumoured that the Leafs had interest.
Oliver Kylington
Brad Treliving has a connection to Kylington, who he drafted in the 2nd round of the 2015 draft while he was with the Calgary Flames. He’s been hampered by injuries over the past couple of years, but registered 9 goals and 31pts during his last full NHL year. He’ll be cheap to sign and could be a decent depth option if he can stay healthy.
Tony DeAngelo
We’re just having fun at this point. DeAngelo once took to twitter to tell a fan that he’d meet him in front of MSG for a fight. He also heavily criticized Canada for it’s actions during the covid pandemic, so playing north of the border might not be his cup of tea. The drama might be worth the price of admission though and there’s no denying his skill on the ice.
Unlike in past articles where I listed players that interest me, there’s not really any defenders that I care for right now outside of Ekblad and maybe Kylington, who could be an under the radar break out candidate. That’s not to say that there aren’t decent options out there, such as Ivan Provorov, Vladislav Gavrikov, Dmitry Orlov and Ryan Lindgren, among others. I just feel that if they’re going to add to a unit that is already effective, it needs to be at the very top and none of the current options really accomplish that. While we know that we’ll also see a depth option or two added, similar to the Dakota Mermis or William Lagesson signings over the past couple of years, I don’t expect much change to the NHL blueline.