Toronto Maple Leaple Leaples battles raise questions about blue line formation – Hockey writers – toronto maple leaves

When things go wrong for a team with the worst playoff aspirations, as the Toronto Maple Leafs are currently doing, fingers are often pointed at deeper, more fundamental issues. Does the program work? Does coaching work? Is a proper system being developed?

In the maple leaves, this is especially noticeable in the end, where the reliable group of veterans was completely contained trithroves from last season should have been the reliable strength of the club. Now, Toronto is ranked dead-last in the NHL in goals allowed per game (3.82), it’s fair to wonder if the blue line is too old, too slow and can no longer keep up with the rest of the league.

If that’s the case, then it’s also hard to ignore the flaws in the design of a unit built to win now. Morgan Rilly gets a pass here as the longest maple leaf and the player with the most games played from the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. However, in addition to Rielly, it is worth looking back at the construction of the top-six and where the maple leaves are possible.

Toronto wasted little time when talking about their blue line in the summer of 2024. Even before free agency opened on July 1. When the two sides failed to reach an agreement in the special negotiation window, they quickly received a six-year, $27 million contract.

Later that day, the maple leaves also strengthened their blue line, stealing Oliver Ekman-Larsson away from the Champion Florida Panthers in a four-year, $14 million year.

Tanev was 34 at the time of signing while Ekman-Larsson was about to turn 33, so both deals were signed with the understanding that incoming players could receive age-related drops while under contract. That has not been the case with Tanev, although a good physical injury has limited the now 35-year-old to eight games this season and he still has two seasons left at $4.5 M per year.

Ekman-Larsson, meanwhile, has been a disappointment in Toronto. While his 2024-25-25 season was adequate (four goals and 29 points in 79 games), dynamic issues and inconsistent play ultimately prompted head coach Craig Berube to lose Chief. Come game time, he reached two minutes less than his usual Ice Time (from 21: 30 to 19: 9), placing fifth among the leaves of the maple leaves.

Jake McCabe Trade

Apart from Rielly, the longest serving member of the blue leaves is Jake McCabe. Acquired at the 2023 trade deadline from the Chicago Blackhawks alongside Sam Laffrerts and a conditional draft pick, he brought defensive flexibility and physicality to a defensive team in dire need. Although the costs were rocky (Pick with the first conditional 2025, the second conditional creator, Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev), the reliability brought the value in charge, as did the year left on his contract.

For what were parts of four seasons in Toronto, McCabe served as a respected, reliable, intense presence, who led the team in average ice time last season (21:30). However, he was not perfect. Last season we saw him cough up career-ebinia Although he is only 31, he looked old and slowed down at times as he struggled to chase down opposing chances.

MCCABE Trade, itself, is winning maple leaves. If you exchange a reliable top-four, part ways with a veteran player who hits between the NHL and the Anderican Hockey League (Anderican), a fiery prospect struggles in the Continental Hockey League (Gogolev) and two draft picks. It is possible that NCAA smoveout vatlav Nestrasil (taken with the 25th pick of the 2025 draft) grows into a star or Chicago strikes gold with Toronto’s 2026 second-round pick, but it is possible that this sale continues to look good.

However, what remains controversial, the maple leaf’s decision to extend McCabe in the early stages of last season until the end of five years, $ 22.55 million. The agreement, which was just kicked off this year, will pay EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin Nature $ 4.51 million per season until 2030, when he will be approaching 37 years. Who knows what situation he or the team will find themselves in at that time.

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Brandon Carlo Trade

The last decade of success in Toronto has been driven by the drafting and development of a talented core of superstar forwards (Auston Matthews, Milly Marner), but also included a strong track record of front office decision-making. Sure, there’s been a bad Nazem Kadri trade here or a Patrick Marluaualu signing there, but few have gone as long-term leads.

Maybe until now. Generalier Manager Brad Treliving’s Trade Defense Deadline’s Trade Defense for Brandon Carlo was supposed to help the organization with one big, tough-minded defensive depth run through 2025 and beyond. It was not very expensive, with the group sending the top prospect of Fraser Minten, the conditional restriction of 2026 (the maximum protected) the restriction of 2025) and the 2025 fourth draft of the Boston Bruins.

Carlo is now in 37 games on the maple leaves, and the results look disastrous. The 28-year-old man is always handsome and drunk, often serving as a poster boy for some of the club’s banned expirations. He and Rielly failed to develop the type of chemical the organization hoped would enable long-term maple leaves to emerge from the offending environment. There were full reports from reliable sources that the team was open to working for him this past summer.

On the other side of the deal, 21-year-old Mintiven has already forced his way into the daily grind, scoring three goals and three assists in 18 games to go a long way. He joined a long list of ex-Leafs to boost their old club on their return, bringing the club to the fifth mark of the game with the fifth mark in the reserve in the 5-3 victory last Saturday. Aside from Mintin, 2026 starter Counger also has the potential to be a desirable asset if Toronto continues to struggle this season.

Going into the 2025-26 campaign without Marner, the blue line had to be one of the few options the maple leaves depended on. There is still plenty of time for things to change this season, but Toronto’s early return to play is called for sure in vain. Hopefully this veteran unit can find it and get back to building. If they can’t, however, it’s worth asking the team building.