Leafs may have found their top defensive pairing for playoffs and it doesn't include Morgan Rielly
Jake McCabe has skated in just 13 games for the Leafs since being acquired from Chicago along with Sam Lafferty a few days before the trade deadline. Since coming over however, McCabe has looked more and more comfortable and now seems to have taken Morgan Rielly's spot on the top pairing with T.J. Brodie. Last night, the pairing of Brodie and McCabe dominated their minutes on the ice together and in each of the last five games, the Leafs have won McCabe's 5-on-5 minutes by expected goals, as The Athletic's Kevin Papetti points out.
In the 13 games McCabe has played since joining the Leafs, he has the highest corsi for percentage of 52.55 and the second lowest expected goals against of 10.05 at 5-on-5. McCabe also has the highest expected goals for among any Leaf defender in the 13 games since he was acquired at 10.33. That leads the next closes defenseman by more than 2 expected goals for. Both of those numbers are also at 5-on-5.
Sheldon Keefe looks to have found a reliable defensive pairing in McCabe and Brodie while also allowing Rielly to play more sheltered minutes against lesser competition for the most part - almost proving what Leaf fans have been saying for years that Rielly is not a legit top pairing defenseman. Luckily for the Leafs, the McCabe and Brodie tandem will be more than a one season experiment as they are both signed for next season, with McCabe signed for an additional year.
| POLL | ||
MARS 27 | 1007 ANSWERS Leafs may have found their top defensive pairing for playoffs and it doesn't include Morgan Rielly Will Morgan Rielly be on the top pair for the Leafs when the playoffs kick off? | ||
| Yes | 335 | 33.3 % |
| No | 672 | 66.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
