Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Grading The Leafs Trade Deadline
The Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t do as much as expected at the 2017 NHL Trade Deadline.
In this weeks roundtable we grade the Toronto Maple Leafs deadline.
Here’s what a quick poll on Twitter had to say:
How did the Toronto Maple Leafs do at the NHL trade deadline?
— Editor in Leaf (@EditorinLeaf) March 2, 2017
Not everyone was impressed. Let’s get into the staff thoughts.
James Tanner
Grade: C-
I rate the Leafs deadline a C-. I like the Boyle add, but otherwise it’s a disappointment.
The Toronto Maple Leafs needed a power forward, a defensive forward, and defensive defenseman that can actually play.
They went 0/3. I’d give it an F but improving now is optional given the timeline of the rebuild, and I do like Boyle.
You can read more of James’ thoughts on the deadline here.
Eddie Razo’s Grade
Grade: A-
The Toronto Maple Leafs get an A- from me. The addition of Brian Boyle solidifies the fourth line center role, putting an end to the Ben Smith era and allows for Frederik Gauthier to continue his development with the Toronto Marlies, who could be Toronto’s younger version of Boyle down the road.
Also, Boyle has playoff pedigree and Stanley Cup Finals experience to parlay to the entire team. The stat everyone continues to milk would be the 100 playoff games the 32-year-old has been a part of over the last six years.
The rookies shouldn’t be the only ones soaking in Boyle’s advice, even the veterans on this team do not have enough playoff experience or have been with an organization that has a winning culture.
Now, the defense went without addressing, thus the reason for minus in their grade. Personally, I didn’t expect Toronto to land someone like Kevin Shattenkirk, but someone like Johnny Oduya would’ve been an ideal fit in their second-pairing. Oduya would’ve been another rental that would at least help stabilize the blue-line, somewhat.
Toronto didn’t sacrifice the future; no prospects were sent out, and the plan didn’t go out the window now that the team has positioned itself for a playoff push. Nice, cheap deals that give the team a boost of confidence that management believes in them.
Overall, not a bad trade deadline from the buds.
Andrew Boehmer’s Grade
Grade: B
In order to give a proper evaluation of the Leafs activity this past trade deadline, I need to define each grade. I picked my grade out of the following options: A, B, C, D or F. I chose not to include (+/-) because I feel as though I’d be splitting hairs at that point.
F = Traded away any part of the Leafs future such as a good prospect, valuable pick or current player that’s a core component of the team moving forward.
D = Made a move to speed up the rebuild, otherwise known as a short-term solution.
C = Moved a player filling a roster spot currently for next to nothing. I want something beneficial in return.
B = Made some moves that will benefit the club short-term without jeopardizing long-term goals.
A = Managed to get a good prospect, valuable pick or a top pairing defensman without giving up too much.
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Great, now that we have that out of the way, my answer won’t need to be too long. I would like to call what I wrote above, my passive aggressive approach to answering the question posed. In all seriousness, the Leafs didn’t do anything stupid or over-the-top good.
They were just average at the deadline and that’s alright. Sure, I would have liked to see a return on the guys that will be a UFA at the end of the season. I just didn’t really see anything that jumped at me as far as trading Hunwick, Polak or Smith went.
Hunwick and Polak are better then they appear on paper. They have been apart of this team all season and I’d like to point out that the Leafs are in a playoff position, with the likes of those two on the roster. So, don’t just assume they’re detrimental to the team. At the very least, we get two veteran guys on our blue line for the rest of the season.
Nobody expected the Leafs to be where they sit at this point in the season anyways. They just need to push forward, make the playoffs and do their best. Let’s not count those two guys as a miss chance or a loss. As for Smith, I would have taken a seventh-round pick for him or even, future considerations.
Now, we have the acquisition of Brian Boyle to discuss. Had Lou not pulled the trigger on this one, I wouldn’t have given them a B. Boyle, as I wrote in my article, is a depth, versatile, grit, grinning, power forward. He is a glue guy, a leader on a young team.
He will serve as a role model towards the younger guys at the very least. His resume speaks for itself as far as playoff experience goes. We have to look beyond the names here. Management sent a message to the Leafs roster that basically said, “we believe in you, here’s a little token of our appreciation.”
This was a moral trade and a smart move for the Leafs. I liked Byron Froese, but at best, he’s a great AHL’er. An argument could be made for the fact that we gave up a second-round pick for him. Andrew, isn’t that giving up too much for their future, long-term? Their future being a few years away?
Glad you asked. I would argue against that because the future is not five years from now. It’s really only about one or two years away. The Leafs have drafted well, are developing well and are icing a playoff contending team this season. Losing a second-rounder will not kill us long-term, trust me.
Lastly, I don’t really need to get into the Corrado trade, do I? They set him free and in return, the Leafs received some more veteran presence a draft pick. That’s about all there is to that one.
There was really only one major deal that Leafs fans were thinking about. And that was if they were going to trade a van Riemsdyk or Nylander for a top-pairing defensman. You all know what my thoughts are on that, don’t need to reiterate. But, we know that didn’t happen, making hypotheticals null. However, if a deal like that had gone down, my grade could very well be any of the above.
To summarize, the Leafs really didn’t do anything too bad or too good. They didn’t hurt themselves, long-term or short-term. If anything, they added a depth center for the remainder of the season. My reasoning above should be sufficient enough. If you would like to discuss any of my opinions, feel free to Tweet me, @ACBoehmer or comment below.
Matthew Rodrigopulle’s Grade
Grade: B+
There are quite a few reasons I have given the Leafs this grade for their trade deadline efforts.
I personally think the Leafs did pretty well this trade deadline. I didn’t expect them to make many big moves, and they didn’t. They only made two small moves that won’t hurt them going forward.
This is crucial for the Leafs. They are rebuilding, and they shouldn’t be trading away valuable assets like draft picks or prospects too much. On the other hand, unlike most rebuilding teams they are currently fighting for a playoff spot.
Lou Lamoriello has said he wouldn’t want to jeopardize the rebuild when it comes to trading, and that he would only make a trade to improve the current team if it felt right. Well he executed this plan pretty well.
They acquired Brian Boyle first, who will help solidify the team’s centre core for the playoffs. Even though they spent this years second round pick , this draft class isn’t supposed to be all that strong anyways. An important asset was traded away regardless, but it’s arguably easier to gamble on a prospect who may not be ready to play during our expected window of contention in 3-5 years.
The second trade was basically Frank Corrado to Pittsburgh for a fourth rounder plus a cap dump (Eric Fehr). This trade is a clear sign that the Leafs are still focusing on a rebuild, as this is essentially getting rid of an expendable asset in Corrado for a pick.
Now if I like the trade deadline moves, why didn’t I give the Leafs an A?
Well there were still some moves that the Leafs could have made. Mainly, I was hoping one of Matt Hunwick or Roman Polak would at least be moved. They both have expiring contracts and really haven’t been playing good this year. I honestly hoped they could fetch a second or third rounder, and then someone like Martin Marincin could replace them on the blueline.
If the Leafs had done this, and committed more to the rebuild, I would have been much more satisfied. Instead they get a B+, which still proves that they did a great job.
Tim Chiasson’s Grade
Grade: C-
The Leafs get a C- from me because they didn’t do what they should have done.
Roman Polak and Matt Hunwick are still on the roster and I find it hard to believe there wasn’t at least one deal out there for them. Even a 5th round pick would have been good.
Defense was the Leafs biggest need heading into the deadline and they didn’t address it. The Boyle acquisition filled a need, and that’s fine, but by itself it’s a poor move.
Essentially what the Leafs did was trade Corrado and 2nd round pick for a rental player, a defender for the Marlies, a bad forward with term and a 4th round pick. That’s not a win.
Don’t buy into the theories about the expansion draft, either. Toronto will still have to expose kids with or without Fehr. That move brings no real benefit for that draft. It’s a cop-out for not admitting it’s a bad deadline.
It’s time to send Lamoriello out to the pasture and hand this team over to someone who doesn’t live in the past. Someone who is willing to force Babcock to play his best players by dealing bad veterans that the super-coach loves.