Is Klee The Key?


For at least the past three or four seasons, many Toronto Maple Leafs fans and reporters have said, quite publicly, that in order to get better and potentially contend for the Stanley Cup, they will need to drastically improve their defense. It finally looks as though the Leafs hierarchy is getting that message which has been only too obvious over the past few playoffs runs, especially as the team got deeper into the tournament.

This past summer, they went ahead and signed rugged defenseman Bryan Marchment who is sure to strike fear into opposing forwards who may have ideas about setting up camp in front of Ed Belfour. Today, another more than competent defenseman was added to the roster in the form of Ken Klee.

Klee, who is by no means an all-star caliber defenseman, is still a solid stay-at-home style blue-liner with decent size at 6 feet, 210lbs, adequate for helping opponents find their way out of the slot in front of the net. Last year he recorded a team best plus 22, ranking him twelfth among NHL defenders. He is not the most offensively skilled defender out there registering only one goal and sixteen assists last season but as indicated by his excellent plus minus and large amounts of ice time, his defense is strong.

With Klee now aboard, it gives the Leafs two solid pairs of defensemen which can be rotated against the opponent’s best players. Kaberle and McCabe, along with Klee and Marchment are two solid pairs. Aki Berg and Wade Belak could make up the third pair, while maybe alternating Jamie Pushor in when possible.

It looks as though the Leafs will finally have two solid, dependable pairs that can be relied upon in crucial situations, a luxury that has not been at the Leafs’ disposal for quite a number of years now.