I doubt that happens. When it comes time to close out a 1 goal win Mayfield is usually one of the defensemen on the ice when the horn sounds. Trotz loves Mayfield in the D zone and will always give him nearly 20 minutes of ice time.
I think everything just comes down to size, which is why we don't see Aho. Then again, I can't figure out if Aho is hurt or not, but whatever. We see Mayfield out there, especially at the end, because the 11 skaters on the ice is just a mad pile up in front and you need to clear the crease.
Taking that even further, the Isles play a style where they keep the offense to the perimeter and let them have possession. That means you need to clear the net front and Mayfield is the best guy to do it. If we played up and down pond hockey, someone like Aho (assuming he can handle the speed of the NHL on a regular basis), would be a better fit.
I don't think we see Mayfield get a reduced role until we can trust another big defenseman to clear the net as well as he does. Hickey and Aho ain't it.
What's killing me is that he is making so many boneheaded plays in transition this year and I can't figure out if I'm noticing it more or if he's worse at it. I vividly remember numerous plays where he has all day and then ices the puck. I'm talking he's standing on the defensive face off dot and no opposing player is in the zone, and he just rockets it off the glass and ices it. There was a play last night where there was a delayed offsides and the opposition either went to tag up or to change completely (couldn't even tell because none of them were on the screen), and he iced the puck. f***ing skate and make a pass.
The Isles also heavily rely on the play where a defenseman puts a really hard pass toward the wing on the offensive blue line to tip it in and go to the forecheck. Maybe the ice sucks and we keep missing those tips because that happens constantly when he's on the ice.
Another thing I'm noticing is he is getting destroyed in the 2nd period on the road when he needs to change from the far corner as the RD. He can't get off the ice and it snowballs to all of our other d-pairings. 5-0-1 at home though.