Toronto Maple Leafs: Thoughts On Brian Boyle Pickup
The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Brian Boyle today in exchange for Byron Froese and their highest second round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
The newly acquired Toronto Maple Leafs forward leads the league in active playoff experience with 100 playoff games played. He will add depth down the middle, good for the penalty kill and is a versatile player at 6 foot 6 inches. He is known to play a physical game and can add some points here and there but he’s not known for his offensive prowess.
The Leafs seem to be buyers this year as they believe Boyle’s playoff experience will help them down the stretch and also that he delivers some depth for the club in the postseason if they make the cut.
Brian Boyle Acquisition – Good or Bad?
Tim Chiasson, our Maple Leafs expert here at Editor in Leaf reported earlier of the initial trade. Be sure to check his article out for all the news surrounding the trade.
I wanted to do some extra digging and see if I could answer the main question I had pertaining to the Leafs new acquisition. Once I saw Paul Hendrick of Leafs TV Tweet about Boyle’s playoff experience I sent him a question.
Leaning toward rental given cost of resigning him and with Gauthier emerging as a cheaper younger option. We'll see. #tmltalk
— Paul Hendrick (@HennyTweets) February 27, 2017
He’s got a point there. Management could simply be sending a message to the Leafs roster saying they believe in them and this is an encouragement to keep playing good hockey. If at the very least, it’s a gift to the young guys for their hard work.
Don’t get mixed up with the notion that the Leafs are just trying to speed up the rebuild. They are simply acknowledging their team’s effort and performance by giving up little to leave them with a better chance at the post-season and beyond.
In my opinion, this is a steal for the Leafs. All they gave up is a good AHL player in Byron Froese and a second rounder, which we still have one remaining in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. It should work out to be a good signing for Lou Lamoriello, even if it is just for the rest of the season.
Although, there’s another question that lingers on. Will he go to free agency this summer or will
the Leafs sign him to a long or short-term deal? Does Boyle even want to stay with the Leafs? Like Paul said, the Leafs are looking for long-term solutions and Boyle doesn’t seem to fit into their plan. Frederik Gauthier is a large frame like Boyle and plays a similar game. Offensively aware and as Tim suggested of Boyle, defensively sound.
This should be an interesting development as the Leafs push towards the end of the season with the hopes of making it into the playoffs. From this, we can only gather more questions.
Are the Leafs done trading? Will they try and acquire a defenseman that can fill the hole on their blue line? Time will tell, but I wouldn’t run to the idea that they’ll look for a quick fix like they’ve done in years past. This is a patient team who will stop at nothing to do the rebuild the right way.
The Leafs should be icing both Mitchell Marner and Brian Boyle in San Jose Tuesday night. The extra help has come at the perfect time because the Leafs are not far off from the Atlantic Division lead.