Toronto Maple Leafs: 4 questions to answer coming out of All-Star Break

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2) How long can Ron Hainsey last?

This somewhat ties into the first point of the defence improving by the re-integration of Rielly and Zaitsev.

The biggest gap left by the absence of Zaitsev is the lack of penalty killers on defence.

Babcock has made it a common occurrence to leave 36-year-old Hainsey out for the entirety of every penalty kill over the course of the game. Depending on the penalty trouble the Toronto Maple Leafs get into in a given game, that could spell trouble down the stretch for the veteran defender.

You don’t want to run Hainsey into the ground, especially considering the way the Leafs were left without Zaitsev and Polak in last year’s playoff series against Washington.

You can’t be relying on call-ups to bring the same impact as your top-six defenders, especially Hainsey, who is the Leafs’ top shutdown guy.

When Zaitsev returns, he’ll go back to the first PK unit alongside Hainsey. But the Leafs can’t keep running him out to kill off an entire two minutes.

A second unit consisting of Polak and Borgman could work for the Leafs, at least to cut down on the wear and tear on Hainsey.

Of course, Polak has had issues with putting the Leafs down two men over the last month or so, and Borgman has had little to no experience on the penalty kill, but give it a shot.

Gardiner and Carrick could even be given consideration.

If Hainsey goes down for an extended period down the stretch, the Leafs could be in a lot of trouble. Take care of the assets that will give you the best chance to win in the playoffs.

Considering that the Leafs are looking at a near-lock in a playoff spot, you could test out some new looks on the PK in small doses.