Toronto Maple Leafs: Past Trade Deadline Refresher
What to Expect
Kyle Dubas and the Toronto Maple Leafs made a splash by acquiring Jake Muzzin back in January.
About a week before the deadline, the biggest moves are allegedly yet to come. However, while you’ve likely heard some speculation regarding the likes of Dougie Hamilton, Wayne Simmonds and Alex Pietrangelo, the Leafs may not be looking to do anything big.
Just by looking at the past few years, we can see that the deadline has been used by the front office as a way to tune up the team. The Leafs may have some cap limitations playing a role in this, or they could surprise us all by finagling their way into another big name. After all, the Dubas era has begun, and he’s been able to pull off some moves that may not have been possible under previous management.
That being said, the past deadlines have seen some minor trades that Leafs fans have loved and hated. From trading with rivals to giving up high picks, there’s an awful lot of action for hardcore fans, though they may not be as appealing to the casual viewer.
Today, I’ll take a look at the time leading up to the past few deadlines and check in on how those all played out.
There’s an assortment of players who may be on the move come February 25th though. So if you would like the take a look at some options, we have assembled some thoughts on who to target and who to let be.
2015
The time leading up to the 2015 trade deadline was a fairly active one for the Leafs. Perhaps in an effort to kickstart a rebuild, they acquired 6 draft picks in the month prior. One of these picks was a first round selection in that year’s draft, in addition to Brendan Leipsic and Olli Jokinen. Going the other way was Mike Santorelli and Cody Franson.
The first rounder turned out to be the highlight here, as it was traded down twice in order to draft Travis Dermott 34th overall.
Fans may also remember this deadline as the one the Leafs pulled off the impossible. They were finally able to unload the David Clarkson contract to Columbus. In return for the 7 years, $5.25 million deal, the Leafs received Nathan Horton. The LTIR ridden winger would allow for some cap relief, as his contract was taken off the cap due to injury.
Also around this time of year, teams are looking to not only dump players and contracts but to add veteran presences for the playoffs. In this event, it was the Pittsburgh Penguins offering Zach Sill, as well as 4th and 2nd round picks. The latter would turn into Carl Grundström in 2016.
In return, the bottomfeeder Leafs sent Daniel Winnik.
A few even more miniscule deals were sprinkled in. Overall, a decent stretch of trades that would offer some relief, and add some organizational depth.
2016
Unlike other deadlines, 2016 saw some big moves. With Mike Babcock and Lou Lamoriello now with the team, the rebuild was set to begin.
Fans will remember early February for the Dion Phaneuf trade.
It was the kind of day where every Leafs fan could tell you their whereabouts, and a truly defining moment for the rebuild.
A 10 player deal, the Leafs parted ways with several minor leaguers and received a couple of experienced players, a mid to low range prospect and a pick. The only one of which who is still with the team is Colin Greening. The pick was a 2017 2nd, which came in handy as they selected 6’7 Finnish defender Eemeli Räsänen, who is now developing with the KHL’s Helsinki Jokerit.
The Leafs offered the San Jose Sharks some rentals by shipping Roman Polák and Nick Spaling their way. The Sharks used this an opportunity to unload Raffi Torres on the Leafs, along with two second-round picks.
This is big because the 2017 second was used as part of the trade for Frederik Andersen.
2018 was used on Sean Durzi.
The Leafs weren’t done there and continued to clean house, sending James Reimer to San Jose, alongside Jeremy Morin. The return yielded Ben Smith, Alex Stalock and a soon-to-be 3rd rounder in 2018 (Riley Stotts).
Another solid series of trades, allowing the Leafs to stock up and unload some assets.
2017
With the rebuild in full effect and playoffs in their sights, the Leafs added a rental in Brian Boyle. This at the cost of a second round pick and fringe NHLer Byron Froese.
Though he only suited up for a handful of games and failed to tally a goal, he played an integral role in the six game playoff run. Perhaps most notably assisting on Kasperi Kapanen’s double overtime winner in game 2.
Boyle added not only some size, but some experience to the young Leafs team and has since found success with New Jersey and most recently Nashville.
2017 also saw the end to the Frank Corrado saga, as he was given to Pittsburgh. Again the benefitters of a contender looking to free up space, the Leafs received Steven Oleksy, Eric Fehr and a fourth round pick.
In terms of minor league deals, the Marlies parted with Viktor Loov, in return receiving Sergey Kalinin. Both have since ended up in Europe after brief minor league stints.
A couple of deals that saw the Leafs tie up some loose ends, add some depth once again, and fix the “fourth line centre problem”.
2018
Following the theme of 2017, the Leafs used the trade deadline and time leading up to it, to tune up some weaker areas of the team. They caught many off guard by acquiring Tomáš Plekanec from the rival Montreal Canadiens.
In this deal, the grandson of Leaf hero Bobby Baun, Kyle Baun, would also come to Toronto, though he would only see action in 17 Marlies games before signing in the EIHL
Back the other way went Rinat Valiev and Kerby Rychel, in addition to a 2018 second round pick.
This year, it was also the Leafs’ turn to free up some roster spots.
They did this by ending Nikita Soshnikov’s suffering and shipping him to St.Louis in exchange for a 4th round pick, as well as sending Eric Fehr to San Jose for a 7th round selection.
Again, another solid stretch which would allow the team to make some minor improvements and prepare themselves for the future.
Final Thoughts
The trade deadline in notorious for being a let down every year.
Whether or not this time will be an exception is yet to be seen, but there may still be some action.
The Leafs now find themselves in a position where unloading contracts may benefit them in the future, and may actually find themselves as sellers to free up space.
Though if the past is any indication, we may be in store for a week of AHL deals, draft pick exchanges and bottom six additions.
On the other hand, there is still work the be done, and as of late Kyle Dubas seems to have a knack for pulling off the extravagant, so no one can say for sure.
So what do you think? What should the Leafs try and do come the trade deadline? Will Dubas make a splash, or stick to the fine-tuning of years past?
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Thanks for reading!
Trades, stats, contracts and draft information courtesy of NHLTradeTracker, CapFriendly and EliteProspects