The exodus continues from the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight as Daniel Winnik has been traded – for the second consecutive deadline – this time to the Washington Capitals. With another year left on his 2.25M contract, Winnik was not in the same “definitely gone at the deadline” grouping as other soon to be UFA’s Shawn Matthias, Roman Polak, Nick Spalling and James Reimer. That didn’t save him from GM Lou Lamoriello’s gaze however, as he was shipped out all the same to the Washington Capitals in another future assets trade.
The trade continues the philosophy of getting as many draft picks as possible to give Leafs Draft Guru Mark Hunter and the Leafs’ scouting staff as much ammunition as possible heading into the June NHL Entry Draft.
Brooks Laich has always been considered a great locker room veteran guy who can fill multiple roles on a team.
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At various times with the Washington Capitals he has played anywhere from top line winger to 3rd line shutdown center. With the rise of Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakowsky and this summer’s addition of Justin Williams and TJ Oshie, Brooks Laich has seen his ice time and role on the team decrease steadily. To the point where the three-time 20+ goal scorer has only 1 goal and 7 points in 60 games played this season. As Winnik was signed for one more season, taking on Laich for next season is not a problem for the Leafs, but his 4.5M cap hit vs Winnik’s 2.25M is a bit of a hit. That extra cap space that the Leafs take on in this trade is another case of Toronto finally flexing it’s hefty financial might as a weapon by taking on a larger contract to secure premium draft pick. The 2nd round pick in this years draft keep the Leafs at 12 picks (because of Anaheim’s 5th included on Toronto’s end) but moves them up 3 rounds and carries some pretty decent value.
Winnik himself will bring a lot of what Brooks Laich brought to the Capitals; grit, defensive awareness and team play except with slightly more offensive punch having scored 4 goals and 10 assists this season due, in part to being a faster skater. The addition of Winnik, and more importantly the extra 2.25M in cap space the departure of Laich, combined with Washington putting John Carlson on the IR allows Washington to add another impact Dman like Vancouver’s Hamhuis (speculation) to aid with their “Cup or Bust” run. While he was a fantastic locker room guy on all accounts and a true professional, Winnik never held any long-term future with the Leafs and was always expected to be moved out eventually. Getting a 2nd round pick for him, for the second year in a row is a rather big win for Lou Lamoriello and company.
Much like the Shawn Matthias trade, the Toronto Maple Leafs also added to their AHL depth with the inclusion of 21-year-old defenceman Connor Carrick. The right shooting, former 5th round pick has spent a handful of games with the Capitals but mostly plays with their AHL affiliate Hershey Bears. Just like the earlier acquired Colin Smith, Carrick (no relation to the Leafs’ Sam Carrick) is most likely an AHL career player but has flashed enough skill to call for 37 NHL games with the Capitals over the last few years.
HockeysFuture.com says this about Connor Carrick:
"Carrick lacks size (5’11, 185 pounds), but he more than makes up for it with his skating and offensive ability. He shows great confidence carrying the puck and attacks the offensive zone, jumping into the rush and creating opportunities. Though he is undersized for a defenseman, he shows competency in his own zone despite facing physical challenges. His shot and ability to quarterback the power play are what make him most valuable and he has the skill set to be very good as an offensive defenseman on the NHL level."
Dmen, much like power forwards take more time to develop at the pro level and this could very well be a case of that here with Carrick. He will either be used as a depth Dman for the Leafs down the stretch to allow Stuart Percy or Viktor Loov to return to the Marlies for the playoffs, or he’ll be a backup TJ Brennan type player for the Marlies and give them a second D option on the PowerPlay.
Next: James Reimer to Sharks in Latest Maple Leafs Trade
While Daniel Winnik has always been a class act veteran presence for the Toronto Maple Leafs, this was a great trade for the Leafs as they continue to develop their prospect pipeline and rebuild. Hopefully, LeafsNation we will see more smart decisions like this trade happen today with pending UFA’s Grabner, Boyes and PAP. Happy Trade Deadline Day Leafs Nation!