The Toronto Maple Leafs Lack A True No. 1 Defenseman

As the Toronto Maple Leafs attempt to push back into the playoff picture, there's a lot to like with them – their pluckiness despite being ravaged by the injury bug, the scoring surge of superstar center Auston Matthews and the impact of goaltender Joseph Woll.

However, one thing that's not encouraging is the play of the Maple Leafs' highest-paid defenseman, Morgan Rielly.

The veteran defenseman has had a challenging season – at least, when it comes to his play in his own zone. And as the Matthews Era continues to unfold, one thing has never been clearer: this team, in this era, has never had a true No. 1 D-man.

Now, we're not suggesting for a second the Leafs should be faulted for not coming up with a blueliner on the level of Colorado Avalanche superstar defenseman Cale Makar or the Minnesota Wild's Quinn Hughes. Those players only come along every so often.

Nevertheless, while the Leafs were hoping for the best when they drafted Rielly fifth overall in 2012, he's taken on an important role in Toronto, but he's never evolved into a legitimate No. 1 blueliner in our opinion. Now, has he been a No. 2 defenseman? Sure, you can definitely make that argument. And in 13 NHL seasons, he's had 41 points or more six times.

For most of his time in Toronto, Rielly has been his team's top D-man. But that doesn't mean he's been a No. 1 blueliner.

When you look around, most teams in the Maple Leafs' division all have true No. 1 D-men. The Buffalo Sabres have Rasmus Dahlin. The Ottawa Senators have Jake Sanderson. The Detroit Red Wings have Moritz Seider. The Tampa Bay Lightning have Victor Hedman, and the Montreal Canadiens have Noah Dobson and Lane Hutson. And the Florida Panthers have three No. 2 blueliners in Aaron Ekblad, Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling.

In comparison to those teams, the Leafs are sorely lacking when it comes to defensemen. Veteran Jake McCabe has had a terrific year and can be labelled as a legit No. 2 blueliner, and injured veteran Chris Tanev is probably a No. 3 D-man.

But Rielly has clearly regressed this season. He's a team-worst minus-13 despite having 26 points in 42 games. You can chalk up some of that to averaging 21:55 of ice time, but compare that to McCabe, who is averaging 22:01 and is a plus-26 while chipping in 16 points, and you can see why Leafs fans have grown tired of Rielly's subpar defensive play.

Toronto's defense corps was looked at as a strength entering the current season, but it has fallen apart, in part due to injury, but in equal part due to subpar play from Rielly, Simon Benoit and Philippe Myers. Indeed, when waiver-wire pickup Troy Stecher can come in and almost instantly give you higher-quality minutes than Rielly, Myers and Benoit have provided, that's an obvious indictment of the Maple Leafs' back end.

'There's Some Instances Where I Could Be Better': How Morgan Rielly Views His Game So Far With Maple Leafs This Season Veteran defenseman Morgan Rielly is leaning on a career’s worth of perspective to keep his focus on the big picture, prioritizing the Maple Leafs’ collective success over individual statistical scrutiny.

It's not going to be easy to find someone to step in and be a top-pair blueliner for Toronto in a way that the 31-year-old Rielly clearly cannot be. Maybe Leafs GM Brad Treliving takes another run at Calgary Flames veteran Rasmus Andersson in a trade, but even then, Andersson is not a No. 1 D-man at this stage, even if he would come in as Toronto's top defenseman.

Another intriguing option might be Sabres youngster Owen Power, who has underwhelmed in his brief time in the NHL and could be available if the Sabres fall out of the playoff race and choose to make aggressive changes either by this year's March 6 trade deadline or this summer. But Treliving would have to pay a heavy price to acquire him, and he isn't flush with trade assets that would make Buffalo GM Jarmo Kekalainen's mouth water.

The Leafs' strong play of late means Treliving may prioritize acquiring a high-end right winger in the short term. But in the long term, Toronto's main goal must be to develop or trade for a defenseman who can take care of his own zone first and foremost, and any offense he provides will be so much gravy.  Maybe that's prospect Ben Danford, but there's no assurance Danford can raise his game to that level.

Here's what it all adds up to: the Maple Leafs have had many Grade-A players in the Matthews Era, but they've never had a Grade-A D-man in the Matthews Era. And until they do, they're going to be in tough to go deep into the post-season and win a championship.

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