Why Nick Blankenburg's tryout deal with the Maple Leafs is a smart move

Nick Blankenburg is walking into Toronto Maple Leafs training camp this week on a professional tryout, and the timing tells the real story.

The Boston Globe's Kevin Paul Dupont reported the deal, and it lands right as Toronto's blue line gets shaky again heading into camp.

Chris Tanev is still dealing with an abdomen issue and remains questionable for the start of the season, per the team's own injury report.

That matters. Tanev played just 11 games last season and finished a shortened year with two assists and a plus-8 rating.

Blankenburg gives Toronto a low-risk answer while Tanev's status stays murky. He is not signed yet. He is auditioning.

The 28-year-old split last season between two teams, picking up 21 points over 49 games with Nashville before adding three points in 12 games after landing in Colorado.

Over 176 career NHL games, Blankenburg has 18 goals and 40 assists, a right-shot defenseman who has bounced between three organizations trying to stick.

Jim Hiller inherits a blue line still searching for answers

Jim Hiller took over behind Toronto's bench in June, and he inherits a defense corps that already raised questions before camp opened.

The Maple Leafs stumbled to the finish last season, dropping seven straight to close things out at 32-36-14 with a minus-46 goal differential.

Darren Raddysh put up 70 points and Emil Andrae finished at plus-15 last season, and both were brought in to fix Toronto's breakout.

Blankenburg profiles the same way. At 5-foot-9 and 177 pounds, he is undersized by blue-line standards.

But he plays like a shifty running back who refuses to go down on first contact, always fighting for the extra yard.

Troy Stecher managed just 14 points and a minus-8 rating last season, and Blankenburg's tryout puts direct pressure on those bottom-pairing minutes.

A late-summer tryout rarely signals organizational depth. More often it means the front office still is not sure what it has on the back end.

Whether Blankenburg earns a real contract or gets cut loose before the roster locks, his presence says plenty about how unsettled that blue line still is.