Cody Franson
GP
|
State
|
CF%
|
CFRel%
|
ChF
|
ChA
|
O/20
|
D/20
|
Ch%
|
TOI
|
79
|
ES
|
44.9%
|
2.6%
|
298
|
395
|
4.7
|
6.2
|
43.0%
|
16:08
|
5-on-5 Close
|
44.2%
|
2.5%
|
166
|
230
|
4.5
|
6.2
|
41.9%
|
09:21
|
Before the season,
Franson signed a 2 million dollar one-year deal, which will keep him an RFA for
the upcoming offseason, and will pose a potential difficulty for the Leafs.
After having a decent year last season, he has struggled this year. His Corsi
numbers were still better than most of the other defenders, but his chance
numbers were the worst among regular defenders. He never really seemed to be
comfortable with Jake Gardiner, who he played with more than any other
defender. Franson was used differently this season, as he got consistent top-4
minutes, unlike the first part of the lockout season, when he played on a
bottom pairing with Mark Fraser.
Franson's defensive numbers weren't bad, but his rate of generating
chances was down, as were his point totals, which may be down to playing
against improved opposition. He was one of few players who improved over the course of the year, as his chance numbers were extremely poor through the first 30 games, but he did quite well in the last weeks of the season.
Jake Gardiner
GP
|
State
|
CF%
|
CFRel%
|
ChF
|
ChA
|
O/20
|
D/20
|
Ch%
|
TOI
|
80
|
ES
|
46.4%
|
5.7%
|
356
|
458
|
4.9
|
6.3
|
43.7%
|
18:11
|
5-on-5 Close
|
45.4%
|
4.9%
|
188
|
257
|
4.6
|
6.3
|
42.2%
|
10:11
|
Gardiner has strong performances in the closing days of the season, as a lot of the other
Leafs struggled. Also, despite having some rough periods in the mid-season, he
led the Leafs in ES icetime on the season, logging 60 minutes more than Phaneuf
over the course of the year. He's another player who was strong in Corsi, with
easily the best possession numbers of any Leaf, but saw chances lag behind.
Only rookie Morgan Rielly had more protected zone starts and he had much weaker
opposition than Franson, but Gardiner failed to turn that into a lot of
chances, as only Franson was below him among the regulars.
Tim Gleason
GP
|
State
|
CF%
|
CFRel%
|
ChF
|
ChA
|
O/20
|
D/20
|
Ch%
|
TOI
|
39
|
ES
|
39.3%
|
-5.2%
|
137
|
181
|
4.7
|
6.3
|
43.1%
|
14:50
|
5-on-5 Close
|
37.2%
|
-6.2%
|
82
|
108
|
4.5
|
6.0
|
43.2%
|
09:17
|
Gleason, acquired
during the Winter Classic, had a solid start, but tailed off, and ended up down
near the bottom of the defensman rankings. He was the lowest of the regulars in
both Corsi measures, and ended up falling behind Gardiner in 5-on-5 close
chance%. He got difficult assignments, with only Phaneuf and Gunnarsson ahead
of him in that respect. His chance numbers ended up being right around the
average for the team. He played quite a bit with Rielly, but they struggled as
a partnership, while with Franson he had a near-50% chance percentage.
Carl Gunnarsson
GP
|
State
|
CF%
|
CFRel%
|
ChF
|
ChA
|
O/20
|
D/20
|
Ch%
|
TOI
|
80
|
ES
|
40.1%
|
-4.0%
|
333
|
384
|
5.1
|
5.9
|
46.4%
|
16:16
|
5-on-5 Close
|
40.7%
|
-2.0%
|
201
|
212
|
5.3
|
5.6
|
48.7%
|
09:24
|
Gunnarsson is one of
the most confusing players on the Leafs; his Corsi numbers are near the bottom
for the season, but he has been a clear leader in the chance percentages, both
ES and 5-on-5 close, for much of the season. His strong offensive numbers are
likely due to the amount of time he spent with the top line, compared to the
other pairings, but he also had far-and-away the best defensive chances rate of
any Leaf defender. One potential
explanation is blocked shots; Gunnarsson had a much higher shots blocked rate
than the other Leaf defenders, and was the only Leaf defender to have a
negative close Corsi Rel and a positive close Fenwick rel. Since chances don't
include blocked shots, the Swede's propensity for blocks likely helps his
chance percentage. Still, I'm not convinced that's enough to explain the
difference; it's probably linked to whatever factors inflated Gunnarsson's
on-ice Sh%, which led him to have the highest PDO on the team. His tailing off towards the end of the year, which did see his PDO come down, is surely closely linked to the Leafs' collapse. Whether it was an inevitable regression, or a result of a player wearing down after too many difficult minutes over the course of a busy season is unclear to me.
Dion Phaneuf
GP
|
State
|
CF%
|
CFRel%
|
ChF
|
ChA
|
O/20
|
D/20
|
Ch%
|
TOI
|
80
|
ES
|
40.8%
|
-2.8%
|
350
|
442
|
5.0
|
6.3
|
44.2%
|
17:27
|
5-on-5 Close
|
40.0%
|
-2.9%
|
198
|
253
|
5.0
|
6.4
|
43.9%
|
09:50
|
The Leafs' captain gets
a lot of heat in the media, and while his leadership abilities are somewhat of
an open question, a fair amount of the attention for his on-ice play is
unwarranted. He plays a lot of minutes, probably too many, as the only
defenseman to get time on all three units. His defensive numbers are similar to
the likes of Gardiner and Franson, but he's got offensive numbers more like
Gunnarsson, which may again be due to getting more time with the big line.
Phaneuf's QoC is just slightly higher than Gunnarsson's, and his Corsi numbers are
slightly better. Getting as many minutes as he does, and having them be so
difficult, a marginally negative CorsiRel isn't a bad result. Phaneuf probably
shouldn't be the first pairing shutdown guy Randy Carlyle seemed to use him as,
but he is still an effective defenseman who will be a key part of whatever the
Leafs build going forwards.
Paul Ranger
GP
|
State
|
CF%
|
CFRel%
|
ChF
|
ChA
|
O/20
|
D/20
|
Ch%
|
TOI
|
53
|
ES
|
42.3%
|
0.2%
|
195
|
248
|
4.8
|
6.1
|
44.0%
|
15:16
|
5-on-5 Close
|
41.7%
|
-0.1%
|
118
|
154
|
5.1
|
6.7
|
43.4%
|
08:42
|
Returning to the NHL
after three seasons away, Paul Ranger took some time to get up to steam, and
had a number of gaffes early, but on the whole ended up having a decent
season. Carlyle used him a lot in the
defensive zone, where he had a high percentage of zone starts, but not against
top competition, as he was level with the likes of Rielly and Gardiner in QoC.
He shuttled between a number of different pairings, but was at his most
effective with Morgan Rielly. While Ranger
isn't anything special, I think he should be able to stay in the NHL as a
bottom pair defenseman; whether that should be with the Leafs is a different question. Ranger was
the most event-heavy of the defense corps, with high offensive numbers, but
also fairly weak defensive numbers, rate wise.
Morgan Rielly
GP
|
State
|
CF%
|
CFRel%
|
ChF
|
ChA
|
O/20
|
D/20
|
Ch%
|
TOI
|
73
|
ES
|
44.5%
|
2.8%
|
291
|
361
|
5.1
|
6.3
|
44.6%
|
15:35
|
5-on-5 Close
|
42.6%
|
1.9%
|
157
|
208
|
5.0
|
6.6
|
43.0%
|
08:40
|
As a rookie
19-year-old, Morgan Rielly had a solid start to his career, and while his
defensive game still needs some polish, he showed a degree of skating speed and
offensive ability that should leave people excited. He benefited from exactly
the sort of things you'd expect a rookie defenseman to get; relatively easy
competition and very soft zone starts. This helped him to be the best of the
offensive defensemen outside the top pairing guys, but his defensive numbers
were among the worst as well, a clear sign that improvement is needed in the
future. I'd be intrigued to see him with Jake Gardiner long-term, they were a
very effective tandem when used together.
Player
|
GP
|
CF%
|
CFRel%
|
ChF
|
ChA
|
O/20
|
D/20
|
Ch%
|
TOI
|
Gunnarsson
|
80
|
40.7%
|
-2.0%
|
201
|
212
|
5.3
|
5.6
|
48.7%
|
09:24
|
Phaneuf
|
80
|
40.0%
|
-2.9%
|
198
|
253
|
5.0
|
6.4
|
43.9%
|
09:50
|
Ranger
|
53
|
41.7%
|
-0.1%
|
118
|
154
|
5.1
|
6.7
|
43.4%
|
08:42
|
Gleason
|
39
|
37.2%
|
-6.2%
|
82
|
108
|
4.5
|
6.0
|
43.2%
|
09:17
|
Rielly
|
73
|
42.6%
|
1.9%
|
157
|
208
|
5.0
|
6.6
|
43.0%
|
08:40
|
Gardiner
|
80
|
45.4%
|
4.9%
|
188
|
257
|
4.6
|
6.3
|
42.2%
|
10:11
|
Franson
|
79
|
44.2%
|
2.5%
|
166
|
230
|
4.5
|
6.2
|
41.9%
|
09:21
|
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