Editor In Leaf
Fansided

Step by Step Guide to the Toronto Maple Leafs Off-Season

By James Tanner

Oct 20, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri (43) shoots around Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin (25) during the first period at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 20, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri (43) shoots around Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin (25) during the first period at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next

Toronto Maple Leafs and the Pre-Expansion Draft Period:

The Expansion Draft for the Las Vegas Knights will be held between June 18-20 and the results will be announced on the 21st, prior to the NHL Awards.

The latest the Stanley Cup Final can go is (I believe) June 13th.

That means once hockey officially ends for the year, there will be five days of anticipation leading up to the expansion draft.  While teams who are eliminated can make moves whenever they want, nothing will be announced (one assumes) before the Final is over.

Leading up the Expansion Draft, I’m concerned that the Toronto Maple Leafs will lose an effective player or one of their young prospects.   Depending on who they protect, there is a chance that they could lose Martin Marincin (a very effective player, no matter what anyone says), Connor Carrick (unlikely to be exposed), Josh Leivo (a shot-volume player they should definitely be keeping), Kerby Rychel (former 1st round pick), Brendan Leipsic (perhaps the team’s current top-prospect) or Seth Griffith (PPG AHL player).

Now, none of those players is likely to be a star in the NHL, but every single one of them looks like they will be (or already are) effective NHL players.  Given how many injuries teams have, and that teams who lose good players in the expansion draft may be looking to re-stock, the Leafs should do what they can to hold on to all of these players.

I suggested earlier that the best way to make sure none of these guys gets picked is to expose Tyler Bozak.  This idea was not popular at all. I still think it’s a good one, however the risk remains that Las Vegas will prefer prospects anyways and still take Leipsic or Rychel.

To that end I make my first move:

This trade would free up two protection spots.  While the Leafs would be losing their best defensive forward (Leo) and their longest serving player (Bozak), I believe in the long-term, this is best for the team because both players can be replaced, and it leads to younger, more cost-controlled players staying.

After surveying the league for teams that the Expansion Draft is causing trouble for, I pass on a couple of rumored  trades before the draft, deciding that JVR is a ridiculous price to pay for Josh Manson, and that the Wild are asking too much for Niedo Neiderreiter.

I do, however, make a trade with the Nashville Predators in exchange for Calle Jarnkrok, a versatile forward who is excellent at defense and has the best dollar-for-dollar value contract in the NHL.

The Predators will have to move Jarnkrok or lose him for nothing, and I believe a first round pick is a cheap price to pay for a player I know can be effective and who I have locked up for four more years at $2million each.

I know people don’t like trading draft picks, but if you want to win, it’s a necessity.

Home/Editorials