Editor In Leaf
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Toronto Maple Leafs: The Joffrey Lupul Discussion

By Andrew Boehmer

Dec 17, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul (19) after being called for a penalty against the San Jose Sharks at the Air Canada Centre. San Jose defeated Toronto 5-4 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul (19) after being called for a penalty against the San Jose Sharks at the Air Canada Centre. San Jose defeated Toronto 5-4 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The chip to avoid losing a good prospect of the Toronto Maple Leafs might be Joffrey Lupul.

Yes, if the Vegas Golden Knights took Lupul from the Toronto Maple Leafs, their good prospects would stay intact.

Kind of, but don’t worry, I’ll explain below.

Strange idea, though.

Not my own thought, that honor belongs to Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star.

Yikes, I’m just realizing I’ve absolutely picked apart his article from last night, this being the third installment of it.

The first piece was on Connor Brown and the second was on Kerby Rychel in case you missed them.

Shameless plug, I’m okay with it.

I promise this will be the last that I’ll pluck from the original, mainly because I ripped it apart and there’s little left.

Anyways, straight to it.

Joffrey Lupul

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There’s a lot in McGran’s article, so I’m going to paraphrase some thoughts and quote the good stuff.

The fact of the matter is that Lupul was eligible for selection even though he missed the entire season due to injury.

He’s a member of the Robidas Island in case you forgot.

A tropical paradise that’s hidden away.

McGran reiterated something that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said regarding eligibility.

"None of the draft exemptions were automatic. Each were evaluated on a case-by-case basis. That includes Lupul."

The following is quoted from McGran himself directly after he used Daly’s quote.

"So either Lupul believes he is healthy enough to play or the Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello, the king of finding loopholes in the NHL’s rules, has a deal with Vegas GM George McPhee to take Lupul and his $5.25-million contract off Toronto’s books and stay away from a high-end prospect, such as Brendan Leipsic or Kerby Rychel."

My immediate thought from the above statement is the fact that teams are making these deals to protect roster players, not prospects.

The two main incentives are prospects and draft picks for Vegas.

So isn’t this hypothetical move kind of redundant seeing as though there’s very little room for either Leipsic or Rychel on the Leafs roster?

The Coin

On the other side of the coin, the Leafs aren’t burdened by Lupul’s hefty contract any longer, but they’ll lose some decent picks in the process.

Clearly giving up prospects to entice Vegas to take Lupul wouldn’t work seeing as though this move would be to protect two of the prospects that could help close this deal.

Lot’s to think about here.

McGran goes on to suggest that maybe it’ll take the Leafs 17th overall draft selection this year.

Toronto’s air tight with this stuff, so we’ll just keep on guessing until the Golden Knights team is announced.

This move would help the Leafs impending cap situation – there will be one – and looks good on paper.

However, the cost to have it happen might be too much to part with and I think it’s too risky.

Don’t do it, Lou.

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