Two Maple Leafs Defensemen Emerging As The Team's Top Pair: Statistics Suggest Craig Berube Has Struck Gold
Jake McCabe struggled at the beginning of the year, but since he's been paired with Chris Tanev he's been elite, a massive turnaround which shows Tanev's importance.
Last season, Jake McCabe was Toronto's preeminent shutdown defenseman, showing why Toronto coveted the defenseman so highly and ended up parting with a first-round pick because of it. Toronto ensured that he stuck around too, extending McCabe for the next five seasons.
He started a bit slower this year, however, since being paired with new acquisition Chris Tanev, McCabe has shown exactly why he's one of the better defensemen in the league:
Before the pairing, he was playing more minutes and had an xGA of 7.3; a fairly rough number which meant teams were more prone to scoring with him on the ice, whether due to defensive errors or mispositioning. Whether it's feeling more comfortable with Tanev beside him, or he's learned some new knowledge from the veteran, the numbers have been impressive.
Already with five assists this season, McCabe has become a much more confident offensive-minded defender, scoring a career-high eight goals last year, and more than enough time to get close to that number again, especially if he can let loose a bit more with Tanev in tow.
Playing less 5v5 minutes allows Craig Berube to utilize McCabe in roles more suited for him, letting him run wild on the ice during penalty kills and letting Tanev handle things if McCabe wants to pinch. Going from nearly 7 goals expected to under 2 is a wildly big improvement in such a short period, as it truly shows why Tanev is such a huge part of the team on and off the ice.
Craig Berube, for as much as he likes to tinker, is also incredibly stubborn. But that stubbornness pays off when he gets a pairing like McCabe and Tanev. Why fix what's not broken? The first pairing of Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson have improved together as time goes on, and OEL looking like a decade younger also happens to help decide to keep the status quo.
Toronto knew what they were getting in Chris Tanev when they signed him this offseason, but I don't think they ever expected the impact he would have on his team in such a short amount of time.
