The Toronto Maple Leafs made another transaction.
No, it wasn’t the signing of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner, which everybody wants to hear at this point. Instead they made a trade.
The Leafs announced Thursday afternoon that they had acquired defenseman Jordan Schmaltz from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for defenseman Andreas Borgman.
This obviously wasn’t a blockbuster by any means, but I’m very happy with the trade. So how about we go into detail on it?
Andreas Borgman
Borgman was signed to an entry level contract by the Maple Leafs at the end of the 2016-17 season after an impressive year with HV71 of the SHL that saw him put up 15 points in 45 games, good enough to win SHL rookie of the year.
He then made the Leafs’ team out of training camp the following season and put up 11 points in 48 games before being assigned to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.
He would then total 26 points in 70 games with the Marlies, not having played an NHL game since the 2017-18 season.
Who is Jordan Schmaltz?
Schmaltz, on the other hand, is a right handed defenseman who stands at 6’2 and 198lbs.
He was drafted by the Blues 25th overall in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft, after putting up 35 points in 46 games for the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers.
He then spent the following three years playing for the University of North Dakota and has been in the pros ever since 2015-16.
Schmaltz spent the majority of that time in the AHL, posting a total of 93 points across 180 AHL games. He’s had limited time and thus limited success in the NHL, putting up only five assists in 42 games.
Last year in particular was a rough season for Schmaltz, as he mustered only two points in 20 NHL games to go with nine points in 36 AHL games.
Analysis
Overall, I think this is a great trade. The Leafs have a very thin defensive core heading into the start of the season with the injury of Travis Dermott, leaving them with Morgan Rielly, Tyson Barrie, Jake Muzzin, and about ten guys competing for the rest of the spots.
With the acquisition of Schmaltz, it gives the Toronto Maple Leafs an option to fill out the right side of their defensive core to start the season and maybe even stick around once everyone is healthy.
It’s no secret that the Blues have a very good defensive core, and Schmaltz never really got the opportunity to play consistent NHL minutes.
For a team that just lost three of their D-core regulars (Gardiner, Hainsey, Zaitsev), the Leafs have the space to give Schmaltz a chance to prove himself and remind us why he was a first round draft pick.
Borgman was a decent player but with the eventual rise of Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren, he was slipping down the depth chart quickly.
Both players make the same salary, and both their contracts expire this after this year. Both players are probably perfectly fine bottom-pairing NHL defenseman. Schmaltz is a year older, and neither player has a particularly high upside.
The main purpose of this trade appears to be to balance out the left/right shooting in the Leafs NHL/AHL defenseman depth chart.
Overall, very good trade for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it will be interesting to see how he pans out for the Buds.