Surprising Stat Shows Maple Leafs Can Match Panthers in Stanley Cup Chase
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
TSN analyst Travis Yost put together his rankings for his best teams defensively heading into the 2025-26 season, with the Maple Leafs pulling in a very solid rating.
A lot of talk about the Maple Leafs' defensive turnaround has surrounded just how good the team got in short order. All it took seemingly was a Chris Tanev acquisition and pairing him up with Jake McCabe to turn the defense around, and got pleasant surprises from vets like Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
They added Brandon Carlo at the deadline, and the team firmly looks like they have their defense set, with several depth pieces who are able to slot in due to injuries and it could be a huge factor in weathering the strong Atlantic Division.
Toronto Ranks Highly On TSN Analyst's Defensive Tier List
Well, TSN's Travis Yost believes the team is well set to succeed this season, so long as Tanev can keep things going, and the team will be able to compete with some of the best.
In his article ranking the top defensive teams in the league, Toronto lands in the second tier alongside Florida, Buffalo, Vancouver, Vegas, Winnipeg and Washington, and Yost thinks they can handle whatever comes at them; so long as Father Time stays clear:
Can Chris Tanev keep staving off Father Time? Toronto's been an improving defensive team for several years now and the addition of the veteran last summer only furthered those gains.
Tanev's one of the most reliable two-way players in the league - and his pairing with Jake McCabe in 2024-25 was sensational, managing a whopping 61 per cent goal share in 660 minutes together.
Tanev's one of the most reliable two-way players in the league - and his pairing with Jake McCabe in 2024-25 was sensational, managing a whopping 61 per cent goal share in 660 minutes together.
So far it seems like the team is running that duo as their main shutdown line, and while Morgan Rielly is still a big part of the team, his defensive struggles have led to him finding less responsibility at times.
But the fact they can hang with teams like Florida and Vegas is huge not only for their confidence, but a big factor come playoff time.
Why Toronto's Long-Term Defensive Plan Can Work
Plus, this pairing is not likely to end anytime soon given that Tanev is around for the next five years, and McCabe is as well. It's clear this is the tandem Craig Berube trusts, and it's led to a lot of success.
The 2025-26 defensive lineup may look something like this next season:
McCabe - Tanev
Rielly - Carlo
Benoit - Ekman Larsson
All around that's a very thorough and solid six players and the depth they have to replace them in an emergency capacity allows them to hold off the opposition enough to keep them in games.
Everyone in the top-six is signed past this season, with only Henry Thrun needing an extension in due time. This is a group that will only get better the longer they play together and that seems to be something that's a very distinct possibility.
If there's one caveat about Toronto's defense it's ironically the offense. While Rielly and Ekman-Larsson are the puck movers, the former hasn't been nearly as impactful as he should be, and the latter is a 34-year old vet who is best suited as a third-pairing D-man.
If they can find a way to improve that, either through a trade or the free agent market (Matt Grzelcyk perhaps) then that could shoot them into the top tier of defense alongside teams like Carolina and Atlantic rival Ottawa.
But beyond that one little boost offensively, the Maple Leafs defense is set to make waves in 2025-26, and if the team can stay healthy, and maybe get a surprise here and there; maybe a playoff rematch against Florida will look a lot different.
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