Even after adding Darren Raddysh, the Toronto Maple Leafs still haven't proven they have the #1 defenceman that's been missing in the Auston Matthews era.
For nearly a decade, the Toronto Maple Leafs have had the luxury of having Auston Matthews. One of the greatest goal scorers of the modern era, he's proven exactly why he went first overall in 2016 - he's the franchise leader with 428 goals, won a Hart Trophy, along with three Rocket Richard Trophies, yet he still remains without a Stanley Cup.
He's had his chances over the years, in 2022-23 and 2024-25 respectively - both ended by the Panthers - and the rest of his postseason appearances have ended in heartbreak. He's had a revolving door of players to help support him from but hasn't made a Conference Finals-worthy team, leading to other places being audited.
Toronto never gave Matthews a proper blueline anchor
Though it may not be because of the forward depth. It seems like despite adding a lot up front the team never truly brought in that #1 game-changing defenceman that's crucial to helping win the Cup.
While he could be classified as Toronto's primary defenceman, Morgan Rielly isn't offensively or defensively dominant enough to be a leader for the Maple Leafs on the ice - and he's been their best piece and hasn't produced a consistent Norris-worthy stretch like Quinn Hughes or Cale Makar.
Besides him, the team has relied on names like TJ Brodie and Oliver Ekman-Larsson to drive the offence, and while they have had some glimpses of brilliance at times, they aren't close to the level of a Hughes or Makar.
Since 2021-22, Hughes has 388 points in 378 games meanwhile Makar has 413 points in 369 games over that same span, compared to Rielly who only has 244 points in 379 games. That's a huge discrepancy in points, and Rielly has never pushed himself to the next level except for his 20-goal, 72-point season in 2018-19.
It also shows a deeper problem as the Maple Leafs finished with the second-fewest points from defencemen (132) and fifth-fewest goals from the blueline (28) so the gap is becoming increasingly clear.
It's hard to be successful without a proper offensive driver at the back end, and it's not only harmed the 5v5 but the power-play as well.
Without that quarterback, the Maple Leafs power-play has depended heavily on the forward corps like Matthews and Marner to be successful. They had one power-play goal from the blueline last year and haven't had a real power-play scoring threat from the point since Dion Phaneuf who had seven goals in 2011-12.
Darren Raddysh is as close to a #1 as Toronto has had in years
That's where the signing of Darren Raddysh is meant to improve things, as he led the league's defencemen with 10 power-play goals as part of a 22-goal, 70-point season. Though he's not an elite quarterback like Makar or Hughes, he does offer a new threat with his shot and gives the Maple Leafs a lot more firepower overall.
He's also a steady defender who John Chayka believes can help with defending the blueline and help the Maple Leafs calm themselves in their own end and make better decisions in transition.
However, Toronto is also betting heavily on the fact that his 70-point season last year was not a one-off and indicative of what to expect on a consistent basis and is already 30.
Throughout the last 20 years, the Maple Leafs have tried hard to replace the once dominant duo of Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe and though they've had some great players along the way, none have really played the role of #1. McCabe put up 13 power-play goals on his own in 2005-06 - Rielly has 16 for his entire career so the threat hasn't been there in a long time.
Rielly was supposed to do that but his inconsistency on the offensive side highlights his liabilities on the defensive side.
It's why Toronto had enough this summer and decided to make a change by adding Raddysh. It cost a lot of money at $8.5-million a season for the next eight years but with the team not having a proper piece for Matthews for a decade - it's as close as they've been.
Do you think Darren Raddysh can be the #1 defenceman the Maple Leafs need?
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Sportsnet is replacing Kelly Hrudey with a completely different kind of analyst