Trying to Make Sense of the Toronto Maple Leafs Weirdest Trade Ever

It Looks Like Garret Sparks Will Finally be Making an Exit from the Blue and White

After an amazing season with the Toronto Marlies in the 2017/2018 season the Toronto Maple have decided to cut ties with Garret Sparks

The Maple Leafs had high hopes for him, but his form in the AHL never seemed to translate to the big stage when given the opportunity.

In 20 game played with the Toronto Maple Leafs he posted a 3.15 GAA and a 0.902 SV%

The Trade

Here we go again!

To Toronto: David Clarkson contract, VGK 2020 4th round pick

To VGK: Garret Sparks

I guess we can say this is a merry-go-round for David Clarkson. This one will be a real head scratcher because as far as the cap goes not much really changed.

From surface value all that seems to have happened is that the Leafs gained 700k in cap space and gained a 4th round pick. The Maple Leafs now have 11 picks in a loaded 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Could GM Kyle Dubas and his right hand man Brandon Pridham could be working something out that nobody will see coming. I guess we will have to wait and see.

There are some complicated factors in this trade that Jame Mirtle wrote about today in the Athletic, but honestly, it is beyond the normal fan’s interest or need to know.

The gist is that essentially all the penalties for using LTIR are applied as soon as you use it, and so the Leafs, who were already putting Nathan Horton on the LTIR don’t take further penalties for taking on Clarkson, who will never play for them.

According to Mirtle, this move only costs the Leafs 200K in actual money, and LV benefits by not having to use the LTIR, which is why they paid a 4th rounder for a back-up goalie, which you can otherwise get for free in the middle of the summer. (At least one with no history of NHL success like Sparks).

What Does This Mean for the Team?

Could this mean that Marner is signing soon? A possible Jake Gardiner reunion? Maybe both? Who knows, but it surely makes for an interesting buildup towards training camp which is not to far from now.

With the addition of Clarkson, the Toronto Maple Leafs are now over the salary cap, which means they don’t have to make moves to go over in order to place Horton on the LTIR.  The Leafs now have 10.55mil that they can go over the cap with due to being able to put the Horton and Clarkson contracts on LTIR once the season begins.

There is certainly enough room for Marner to get his 10.5 mil per season if that proves to be the cost.

It is quite interesting though that Gardiner is still on the market even though he was the second best defenceman on the free agent market after Erik Karlsson.

One would have to wonder why this could be. Has he not received the dollar or term that he wants, or has his back problem scared teams from offering him a contract. There is also a possibility that Gardiner wants to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs and have another crack with the team he’s called home for 8 years

We will just have to wait and see to what this out of the blue trade means in the long run.