I'm sure answers will vary depending on your preferences in stats from a D-man. With the height and weights added, those who don't know these two players may well have said player 1 looks to be a more 'shut-down' defencemen, who could use his size in that bottom pair role more effectively than player 2. To give context to those who need it, Marchenko is player 1 and Carrick is player 2. On a 'blind' test, deciding between the two is slightly harder than most would expect. Carrick clearly produces more Corsi events and goals for, over the course of his minutes played, but his zone-adjusted stats Corsi show a player that may be sheltered a bit from defensive zone responsibility. This would allow him to reap the statistical benefits associated with offensive zone opportunity. Marchenko instead appears to allow slightly more shots against, but his on-ice save percentage is incredibly high, meaning the shots he allows may indeed be from lower risk shooting areas.

Overall, the decision between the two won't be franchise-changing for the Leafs. Both players appear capable enough for the limited minutes they will likely play. For the purposes of making a decision, we'll choose to protect Carrick and his extremely cheap contract.

Rounding out the forward group

There's been speculation of late that Tyler Bozak could be left off the Leafs' protection list in order to keep more of the young Marlies breaking into the lineup, out of the hands of the Golden Knights. But after last year's statistical output, the chances of him being left up for grabs without any compensation in return seem pretty slim. However, pulling the same maneuver with Matt Martin is a very different story. Despite his very limited scoring abilities, his goal differential has continued to sit around the 50% mark. Puck possession, in the true meaning of the word, may not be a strength, but he keeps the puck moving out of the defensive zone and brings his Corsi up to a respectable mark, which gets even better once you adjust for his high percentage of defensive zone starts. But $2.5M for a 4th line checker is a lot; add in a 3-year term remaining and Martin becomes a less-than-desirable candidate for the expansion team in Vegas. So for this reason, he remains off our protection list.