A team’s seventh defenseman is usually a blueliner who is too good to be assigned to the AHL, but not quite good enough, at least in the coach’s eyes, to break into the top six rotation. He usually resides in the pressbox as a backup, in case of underperforming teammates or injuries. For the Toronto Maple Leafs, that player could be Connor Carrick.
Aside from the rare occasion that Mike Babcock deigns to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen (and I don’t believe that has ever happened since he took over the Leafs bench), Carrick has been relegated to the press box unless the blueline has been decimated with injuries (though he did get in 47 games last year).