Stolarz needs rest, Carlo needs a new partner and the Leafs need Pinchuk: Leaflets

Is a starter’s workload the cause of Stolarz’s slow start?

The short answer is no. Anthony Stolarz already had some tough nights in the second and third games.

Is it the starter’s workload that means Stolarz hasn’t had the chance to get back on track as easily? That’s a question worth exploring.

Stolarz’s eight starts in October equaled his busiest month as a Leaf, and in fact the busiest month of his career. Similar to last March, when Stolarz played eight games, this October failed to produce a winning record or achieve a .900 save percentage.

After being the league darling in goals saved above expectations in recent seasons, Stolarz is at -2.6 goals saved above expectations in his current season.

He’s also reached his 11th game a full week earlier than last season, which isn’t a huge difference, but for a goaltender like Stolarz, who has yet to reach the 50% workload of starts in a career in his career, it’s a sign that some more rest is needed.

Brandon Carlo needs some time on the third clutch

It wasn’t Brandon Carlo for the Maple Leafs. And let’s be honest, the Maple Leafs ask a lot of him.

As Morgan Rielly’s partner, you essentially ask Carlo to be “the man” in the defensive zone. Considering that Morgan Rielly is at his best when he’s on the ice playing with the Leafs’ top six forwards, he also generally attracts higher-level competition, meaning Carlo isn’t defending against third- or fourth-line forwards too often.

Some players, like Luke Schenn or Ron Hainsey, seemed to understand the assignment and thrived playing with Morgan Rielly, but Carlo, like Roman Polak, proves that staying home is not a universal quality and everything works with Rielly.

The Leafs need some shake-up and while Craig Berube may wait until Chris Tanev returns to give it a go, there’s a case to get in early and test Brandon Carlo on the third pairing alongside Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

The duo looks a lot like a buyer’s remorse couple, but has some potential. You might not want to purposely match that duo with top six forwards, but it’s not the end of the world if they get caught against them. The duo would on paper thrive against the bottom six forwards and that would be who they would be facing primarily.

At the same time, Philippe Myers has looked better with Morgan Rielly than Carlo. More emphasis could be placed on getting the puck off the ice before the puck returns to the Leafs end, but Myers as “the man” on the Leafs end has been no worse than Carlo, while the Leafs have benefited from Rielly-Myers in the other two-thirds of the ice.

Placing Benoit with McCabe makes the pairing quicker than if Carlo were McCabe. It results in a southpaw on the wrong side, but there should be a lot of concern about what Benoit does with his stick.

As for Tanev’s return, whether he’s with Rielly or in the much more likely scenario that he returns alongside McCabe, it leaves the Ekman-Larsson and Carlo combination intact and seemingly makes the Leafs defense look more aligned with the best opposition forwards.

Vitali Pinchuk is a name to know

The Leafs need to find a way to create a modest youth movement that is still comfortable using the draft picks primarily as trade deadline bait, rather than actually selecting prospects. Pinchuk is one way to do that. Knowing how much room teams have to sign their existing free agents and bid for the disappointing amount of talent hitting NHL free agency, teams taking risks on top overseas talent may find themselves with the best opportunity to upgrade, and given that center will always be a position of need, potentially offering Toronto a clear line of sight to immediately play in the NHL on a playoff-bound team, with Mikhail Grabovski just down the road as a potential Belarusian mentor, the Leafs should be on top of this situation and probably is.

PRESENTED BY VIVID CHAIRS