While it appears they dodged serious bullets after Chris Tanev and William Nylander didn’t finish the most recent game against the Boston Bruins, it highlighted how thin the Leafs‘ depth is—as it would on any team, to be fair—particularly on defense.
We have discussed their need on defense before, and it has been evident whenever Tanev or Jake McCabe has gone down. Tanev has only missed one game — a loss to the Jets — while McCabe has missed nine to date, and the team has gone 4-5-0 in those games with wins against the Flyers, Predators, and Blackhawks.