The Toronto Maple Leafs tried to go big at the NHL Trade deadline.
The Toronto Maple Leafs targeted two of the biggest fish available, made their offers and were unsuccessful. I’m just glad they tried. If the price wasn’t what they wanted to pay, then I say have to trust their judgement since a) they’ve done fine this far and b) I don’t know what those offers were.
The Lightning acquired Ryan McDonagh for Vladimir Namestikov + a bunch of prospects and picks. That’s price the probably can’t beat without including Travis Dermott or Timothy Liljegren. Would I have made a different decision? Maybe. I don’t know. As much as I wanted the team to go for it, it’s hard to part with such potentially high-end talent. And, perhaps the Leafs were willing to include those guys, but not additional picks or players. Impossible to know.
What we do know, according to multiple sources on Monday, was that the Leafs were involved in talks for McDonagh and that they tabled an offer.
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We also think – but there are conflicting reports – that the Leafs tried to acquire Mike Green. According to Sportsnet, Green turned down the Leafs using his no-trade clause.
Analysis
Based on the UFA signings of Hainsey, Marleau and Moore, in addition to the rumours that the Leafs made a significant offer for Travis Hamonic in the offseason, we know the Toronto Maple Leafs consider themselves contenders.
Based on the team’s roster and the standings, we know that that is in fact true.
After so many people saying the Leafs ‘weren’t going to do anything big’ as if it was a fact, I am glad that they at least tried to. I wouldn’t have much faith in a management group that couldn’t recognize the importance of trying to win while the goalie is having such a fantastic season.
They did, however, have to balance that against the fact that Marner and Matthews (and potentially Dermott and Liljegren) will all be in the NHL on cheap, entry-level deals next year. So this isn’t the only time they’ll get to go for it with a stacked roster (cap-wise).
The addition of Plekanec is outstanding and can’t be oversold (few players have his possession metrics while facing such heavy minutes and competition) and he’s exactly what the Leafs needed – i.e a defensive forward.
I’m glad that the Leafs tried to get better at the deadline, but also glad that they obviously had a price point they weren’t willing to exceed. Aggressive, but not destructively so. I personally would have really liked to have added McDonagh, and I’m not super comfortable going into the playoffs with Roman Polak as a regular and Ron Hainsey on the first line, but this team is good and can win regardless.
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In the end, Tomas Plekanec is a massive edition to an already stacked forward group, and I think Andersen is good enough this year to overcome Polak being on the team. They might not have gotten a splashy player, but I’m glad they tried.
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