Craig Berube and the Leafs have set their defensive tandem for the upcoming season

After losing back to back preseason games vs. Ottawa, the Maple Leafs were hard back at work trying to figure out who is going to be making the team come October. The team needs to figure out their defensive identity and if today's practice group is any indication: they've found it.

With the regular season just around the corner, a lot of hype has been surrounding the defenseman the Toronto Maple Leafs added such as elite shutdown defensemen Chris Tanev and Jani Hakanpaa through free agency as well as a new offensive look on the blue line with powerplay wizard Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Now, with the release of today's practice groups and lines, the Maple Leafs have their lineup on the blue line; health permitting:

No surprise that Tanev and Rielly man the first pairing, as the addition of Tanev will open the ice for the offensive gifted Rielly, in hopes he can reclaim some of his previous offensive glory and reach the 20 goal mark again in his career. The burden of shouldering the entire defense won't lie on Rielly alone, and Tanev's elite shutdown ability will let Rielly play more to his strengths as a playmaker/scorer. The second pairing will have Ekman-Larsson and McCabe, a duo that could be the dark horse pairing that helps the Maple Leafs to playoff success. OEL will definitely find time on the powerplay, where he has an incredible 59 goals and 127 assists for his career on the powerplay; he also has the 4th most goals for a defenseman on the PP in the last decade.

The final pairing will have Simon Benoit and Timothy Liljegren together where both men are trying to find a bit more steady footing on the club. Liljegren has a lot to prove this year given he's been underwhelming during his time in Toronto, but with a new head coach and a new attitude he could have a very good year. Benoit, who recently became a father, needs to use his shutdown defense to allow the bottom-six lines of Toronto to flourish offensively. We also have Marshall Rifai and Conor Timmins; two blooming youngsters who could find themselves with minutes should Liljegren/Benoit struggle. Rifai who played in one game for the Maple Leafs in 2023-24 had a very solid preseason and looked comfortable on the ice amongst his fellow AHL brethren. It'll be interesting to see if he fights for minutes this year as he tries to establish himself as an impact player.

The Maple Leafs defense still has Jani Hakanpaa waiting in the wings and when he gets healthy, he's able to bring even more of a shutdown and elite defensive look to a team that at times felt lost on defense last season. There is no telling what they can accomplish once healthy and working as a cohesive unit.

The 2024-2025 Toronto Maple Leafs have a new identity and a much more defensive approach to the season; with the proper additions to the team and a new head coach it's only a matter of time until they find success because as we all know:

Defense wins championships.