Fansided

2020 NHL Season: Grading the Toronto Maple Leafs’ left defense at season pause

By Simon Vacca

PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 16: Morgan Rielly #44 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on November 16, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 16: Morgan Rielly #44 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on November 16, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 29: Martin Marincin #52 of the Toronto Maple Leafs clears a puck against the Vancouver Canucks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 29, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Canucks 4-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 29: Martin Marincin #52 of the Toronto Maple Leafs clears a puck against the Vancouver Canucks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 29, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Canucks 4-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

Martin Marincin

Games Played: 26
Goals: 1
Assists: 3
Points: 4

Martin Marincin’s polarizing tenure as a member of the blue and white continues — a surprising sentence to write, indeed.

Since the 2015-16 season, the 28-year-old has circulated between serving as a member of the Maple Leafs’ lineup and playing for the Toronto Marlies — the club’s AHL affiliate. To say that this has been a talking point among the Toronto faithful would be an understatement at best.

Marincin has had a puzzling NHL career. In 227 games played — time split between the Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers — the defender has tallied a mere five goals and 29 assists for 34 points. As these numbers show, Marincin offers little in the offensive zone, leaving most analysis of the player to be taken up through evaluating his defensive game.

In his own zone, Marincin is something of a mystery box. He has good nights where he breaks up difficult rushes and boasts above-average penalty killing on an organization that has long underperformed when down a man. But Marincin’s bad nights leave an ugly stain on his occasional — if under-discussed — moments of defensive prowess. Fans of the team can surely point to examples of these lapses, recalling the defender out of position, trailing his opponents, being easily beaten and misplacing the puck on a few too many occasions.

GM Kyle Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe seem to see something that a reasonable portion of Toronto’s supporters do not, as Marincin was rewarded with a one-year, $700,000 contract on Jan. 10. But until a measure of consistency is introduced, Marincin shall remain a divisive force.

Grade: C-

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