Dec 30, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Phil Kessel (81) looks to take a shot as Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier (45) and Martin Marincin (52) defend during the second period of an NHL hockey game at Consol Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Don Wright-USA TODAY Sports

The focus on Toronto Maple Leafs defender Martin Marincin is a fictional negative impact that he allegedly has on the team, but he does struggle to produce individual score-sheet offense.

The actual impact on the Toronto Maple Leafs blueline that Marincin has is far, far away from the perceived negativity that plague the internet.

Martin Marincin is a good 4-6 defender in the National Hockey League and since the number of defenders dressed doesn’t stop at three, you need those players.

Marincin’s biggest downfall is his lack of concrete offensive contributions to the team on the score-sheet.

The Toronto Maple Leafs defender has good shot generation, but rarely does anything come from the shot attempts.

In fact, Marincin actually had a higher 5v5 iCF/60 (individual corsi-for per 60) than Jake Gardiner, but Marincin also had only 29.48% of is iCF hit the net to Jake’s 38.49%.

In addition to having a successful thoroughfare rate nearly 10% less than Gardiner, Marincin also held an average shot distance of six feet farther out than Gardiner. Those extra six feet likely contribute something to his 1.96% iSH% at 5v5.

Now I’m not saying that Marincin is capable of being as offensive as Jake Gardiner can be, but it’s hard not to wonder what his total may look like if he took an extra stride or two and got the puck to the net an extra 9% of the time.

Increased opportunity would likely lead to increased success, but at what significance is the unknown.

While Marincin’s biggest asset is his shot suppression in a third pairing role, it wouldn’t hurt to see him move a little bit closer in the offensive zone before letting the puck leave his stick in the direction of the net.

Maybe it makes no difference in his personal statistics, but maybe the shot does get through and it generates more zone time which may lead to the scoreboard moving one tick higher in the Toronto Maple Leafs direction.