Do the Maple Leafs Have an Eight-Defenceman Problem?

In reading readers’ comments, someone asked an interesting question about the Toronto Maple Leafs' roster, and I think he's onto something. Can Toronto really afford to carry Emil Andrae, Troy Stecher and Nick Blankenburg as the seventh and eighth defencemen?

That's not really a question about whether any of the three can play. They all can. That's what makes this tricky. The Maple Leafs' top six is pretty much sorted out. Morgan Rielly, Darren Raddysh, Jake McCabe, Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Troy Stecher are currently projected as the group. Andrae and Blankenburg are sitting there as the extras.

And here's the problem. You can only dress six defencemen. So if you carry eight, you're essentially carrying two guys who might spend a lot of nights watching. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Injuries happen. Tanev, for example, isn't exactly somebody you want to assume will play 82 games. But there is a cost.

It Isn't Just About the Eighth Defenceman.

The more interesting part of this roster puzzle is what happens at forward. Toronto already has some uncertainty there. Nick Paul and Dakota Joshua are dealing with injuries, while Bo Groulx has played his way into the conversation. Steven Lorentz was already put on waivers and cleared, which shows just how tight things have become.

If Paul and Joshua are healthy enough to start the season, the Leafs could have very little room for another forward. And Groulx is the guy I wouldn't want to lose. He's waiver-eligible, young enough to keep developing, and he's shown enough in camp to look like a legitimate NHL depth option. He may not score 20 goals. That's not the point.

The point is that he's useful. And when he came up at the end of last season, he played with huge energy.

So What About Blankenburg?

This is where the argument for letting Blankenburg go gets interesting. Blankenburg isn't bad. He's a right-shot defenceman who competes, brings some energy and can fill in. But if the team is carrying eight defencemen, how much will he actually play? Maybe 30 games. Maybe fewer.

And if that's the best-case scenario, is it worth using a roster spot that could go to another useful forward? That's the question.

There is also something else to consider. Andrae is younger and has a two-year contract, while Stecher has already pushed his way into the projected lineup. If those two are your No. 7 and No. 8 options, perhaps Blankenburg becomes the odd man out.

The Maple Leafs don't need eight defencemen because eight sounds better than seven. They need roster flexibility.

What Roster Choices Give the Maple Leafs the Most Flexibility?

And that's where I think the argument against carrying Blankenburg gets pretty interesting. Sometimes the toughest roster decision isn't about dropping a bad player. It's about deciding which useful player you simply don't have room for. The bottom line is that this Toronto roster still has choices to make. What will they be?