Toronto Maple Leafs: 4 questions to answer coming out of All-Star Break
By Austin Owens
1) What happens when Rielly and Zaitsev return?
If you had asked me this five games ago, there would be no question. Morgan Rielly and Nikita Zaitsev would return to their respective spots in the Leafs lineup, the former being with Ron Hainsey and the latter with Jake Gardiner.
Now? Why not ride the hot hands? Gardiner and Hainsey have looked good as a collective over the past week, with Gardiner having nine assists in the past five contests.
Put real stock into Hainsey giving these offensive defenders extra confidence to carry the puck up and create offence.
Rielly and Zaitsev spent the majority of time together last season. They would provide a steady second unit. Rielly also has the confidence from his solid play this season, so being without Hainsey shouldn’t kill his momentum.
If Gardiner can get that same confidence with the puck, while playing a responsible game, then the Toronto Maple Leafs solve their defensive issues without having to make a trade.
The other issue to solve is the third pair when the two defenders eventually do return. The Leafs have been running with a three-player rotation. That won’t be sustained.
As much as he shouldn’t go back down, Dermott would likely be forced back to the AHL, with Connor Carrick being the extra defenceman.
That leaves the third pairing of Roman Polak and Andreas Borgman. I can hear the moaning about Polak already, but let’s face it, he’s not coming out. Borgman and Carrick could still swap out, as it provides another right-handed shot for Babcock.
Dermott absolutely deserves to be in the NHL based on his short resume this season. The Marlies wouldn’t be a death sentence for his career, as he would be the number one defenceman down there.
If the Leafs don’t want to do that, perhaps a deal for Carrick could be arranged. He’s certainly performed stronger with more frequent playing time. He has even gotten some time on the power-play.
Carrick also still owns that pit bull persona that makes him a pain to play against.
Regardless, the way the defence has played over the stretch without arguably two of their most integral parts, their returns would instantly improve the back-end. It just depends on where Babcock sees each of them best utilized when they come back.