TORONTO (Aug. 28) — The most oft–repeated, perhaps only, concern amid zealots of the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer has been “how will the club replace Mitch Marner’s 100 points?” The answer isn’t difficult. Six other guys will get 17 each and… voila! 😛 Lost in this conundrum is the same question we’ve been asking in all but a handful of seasons since 1967: “How can the Maple Leafs challenge for the Stanley Cup with their middling blue line… and without a Norris Trophy threat?” Or, put another way: “Unless you feel Dakota Mermis is the long–missing piece, how can the current defense corps of the Maple Leafs be anything, next season, but a year older?”

The group needs no introduction to fans of the Blue and White. It is virtually identical to the decent–but–not–nearly–good–enough clan that Florida annihilated toward the end of the second playoff round. The ringleader remains 31–year–old Morgan Rielly, the longest–serving Toronto skater, coming off a precipitous decline. Having earlier produced season totals of 72 and 68 points, Rielly slumped to 41 and minus–8. Though a good soldier and spokesperson for the team, Morgan has always ranked a tier beneath the best defensemen in the National Hockey League. He performed nowhere close to that level a year ago and is now viewed as a borderline No. 2… on a team without a clear No. 1. Veteran Chris Tanev stepped in nicely after being signed as a free agent. He provided solid work during the regular season and gave his usual max effort in the spring. But, Tanev was 35 by then and looked a bit, in the Florida series, like the subject of an autopsy photo. How many more years can Chris shoulder such a load? Rounding out the top three is Jake McCabe, an exceptional plus–23 on the blue line but nearly devoid of offense (two goals, 21 points). At 31, McCabe is a good fit for the club and still has lots of savvy.

Rielly, Tanev and McCabe each have five years remaining on their contracts — too many years for the Leafs; certainly pertaining to Rielly and Tanev, who will eventually need to be bought out by the club. (Rielly is eligible now).

VETERAN CHRIS TANEV LEFT IT ALL ON THE ICE FOR THE MAPLE LEAFS, BUT HE WORE DOWN AND LOOKED EVERY BIT HIS AGE IN THE FLORIDA PLAYOFF SERIES. NATHAN DENETTE THE CANADIAN PRESS

The bottom three are interchangable, meaning there are dozens of similar defensemen throughout the NHL. Brandon Carlo came over from the Bruins at the trade deadline and is still just 28. He knows the position and deploys his big frame (6–foot–5, 220 pounds) now and then. But, otherwise… meh. He, too, hasn’t a smidgen of flair with the puck (three points in 33 games for Toronto). Oliver Ekman–Larsson, as so often with Leaf acquisitions, came along too late. We saw a bit of the puck–moving skill OEL flashed in his prime, a decade ago, with the Coyotes, but not much. At 34, he still has three years left on his contract. Simon Benoit rounded out the group and performed generally well for a third–pairing figure. The aforementioned Mermis scuffled through an injury plagued season after signing with Toronto as a free agent last year. He has erupted for 13 points in his 78–game NHL stint.

There may be potential in Ben Danford, selected in the first round (31st overall) by the Leafs in 2024. But, again, only in a physical role as his scoring output (25 points for the Oshawa Generals last season) is negligable.

Otherwise, the Leafs do not possess a front–line prospect on defense. Which is nothing new. Rielly, in fact, is the lone blue–liner drafted and nurtured by the Leafs in the past 30 years to perform at a semi–elite level.

Tomas Kaberle preceded him, but as a fluky eighth–round pick in 1996.

The club’s development record at this key position is appalling, particularly in the salary cap era.

Toronto’s middle–of–the–pack blue line was rescued on many occasions, last season, by Anthony Stolarz before ultimately getting steamrolled (without the oft–injured netminder) against Florida. Can even the most dyed–in–the–wool Leaf supporter look at the blue line and consider it anything beyond average? And, certainly, not in the class of a championship team? How, then, can the Leafs move forward in the spring… unless Stolarz somehow remains healthy and performs at a truly elite level for two months? With a margin necessary to compensate for the humdrum defense line–up in front of him? Most of these queries are rhetorical. The Maple Leafs have an aging blue line with limited capacity to handle and shoot the puck. Who will provide scoring numbers on the back end?

Perhaps we should look beyond Marner’s absence for the true (and never–ending) problem with the hockey club.

WHEN SEPTEMBER FIRST MATTERED

The Toronto Blue Jays are going to win the American League East Division title, this season, for the first time since 2015. The first Jays’ season that ended with the number ‘5’ saw the club make its initial appearance in the Major League playoffs. I think you know I’ve kept a few scrapbooks from my youth. Including newspaper stories and photos from every Blue Jays game in 1984–85–86–87 and 1988, til I got my radio job in May of that year. The 1985 editions — incredibly, 40 years ago — featured the Jays’ first lot of meaningful games in September, as they built a sizable lead atop the A.L. East over the Yankees… and finally put away the pesky Pinstripers on the final Saturday of the season. Here are some scrapbook images of the run–up to that achievement: 

 
My first two scrapbooks (left) from 1985. And a selection of ticket stubs from games I attented that year.

 

 
Blue Jays fans of vintage will remember the colossal disappointment of Bill Caudill (above), the once–reliable closer in Oakland; acquired by Pat Gillick to solve the club’s ongoing void in the bullpen. Caudill had nothing here in Toronto. If not for a mid–season savior, the Blue Jays would have missed the playoffs.

That savior arrived on Aug. 1, in Baltimore…

 
 

A big, weekend series at Yankee Stadium in mid–September started grimly for the Blue Jays (above). But, the relentless club battled back (below) and took the remaining three matches, to increase its lead atop the A.L. East to 4½ games over the Yanks. Toronto and New York reaction, here:

 

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