Maple Leafs are Positioned For a Deep Playoff Run After Hitting a Grand Slam at This Year's Trade Deadline

The Toronto Maple Leafs made two very late trades at this year's trade deadline but they were both massive in their own regards. However, a month after the fact, it seems like they hit a grand slam with the acquisition of Brandon Carlo.

Addressing their back-end has been a priority for years on end but it finally seems like GM Brad Treliving has found his core for the foreseeable future, especially when you factor in how well Carlo has transitioned his game from Boston to Toronto.

His overall game play has been sensational but what he's done for Morgan Rielly has been even better. The veteran had struggled with consistency for the majority of the season and while the Leafs tinkered the lineup in the hopes of finding him a suitable dance partner, nothing seemed to click.

Inserting the rugged Carlo next to him has done the trick as evidenced by the analytical data. Sportsnet's Luke Fox dug deep into the archives and found that when paired together at 5-on-5, the duo of Carlo and Rielly are outscoring opponents by a margin of 12-8.

However on the flip side, when Rielly is without Carlo, the Leafs have been outscored 50-47.

On the season, Rielly has 41 points in 80 games with a minus-11 rating and 21:33 ATOI. Since the trade deadline, he has 9 assists in 18 games to go along with a plus-6 rating and only 2 PIMs in almost 21 minutes a game, which is a drastic change of pace.

Plus/minus is a controversial stat nowadays but Rielly held a minus-17 rating in his first 62 games for a team that was positioned either 1st or 2nd in the division for the majority of the season. In a matter of weeks all of that has changed and it's primarily due to Carlo.

The Maple Leafs are going to need Rielly and Carlo to continue their improved play heading into the post-season as they are more than likely going to be playing a physical and spirited series against the Ottawa Senators.