Toronto Maple Leafs Lucky to Have Not Spent Heavily at Trade Deadline

With the NHL being temporarily shut down the Toronto Maple Leafs may not be playing playoff hockey. If true, it casts a light on the 2020 trade deadline.

We are now all living in unprecedented times thanks to coronavirus, COVID-19, shutting down most facets of society including Toronto Maple Leafs and NHL games.

If the season is canceled, some of the deals on trade deadline day will be terrible for the teams that made them.  Another thing that may eventually have to be reconsidered is the conditions attached to many of the trades.

There is a real possibility that the NHL will cancel the remainder of the season and playoffs. While that hasn’t been announced, this fluid situation could result in one of many possibilities. If the Leafs don’t play in empty arenas and they don’t see competitive action again until October, it will mean that the entire league will turn their attention to the trades that took place ahead of the 2020 trade deadline.

Toronto made its biggest splash 19 days prior to the close of the trade window. In what was initially graded favorably for the Leafs, the transaction saw the Buds receive goaltending and some sandpaper. They acquired Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Trevor Moore and a third-round pick.

The third-round pick was actually tethered to conditions. There are two ways in which the selection in 2021 would be upgraded to a second-round pick for the Kings. The first condition for the round change takes effect if Clifford re-signs with the Leafs next season. If that doesn’t happen, the Kings would rely on something that could be out of everyone’s control.

If the Maple Leafs qualify for the playoffs and Campbell wins six regular-season games then the pick moves to the second round. Campbell has played in six games so far with Toronto and won three of them. If there is no postseason and Clifford doesn’t re-sign, the Kings will lose out on a small prize.

There is more at stake for other franchises.

League Wide Affect

The Carolina Hurricanes traded for the New York Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei. They had to give up a first-round pick to get him. It was a steep price but Skjei is signed through 2024. The deal makes sense as a long term solution to the Hurricanes blueline. Teams who made short term trades are less fortunate.

The Pittsburgh Penguins gave up a third-round pick in order to have former Maple Leafs forward Patrick Marleau help them achieve their Stanley Cup goals. Marleau’s on an expiring contract so if there are no playoffs this year, the Penguins just charitably gave the San Jose Sharks an extra free pick in the 2021 draft.

The Colorado Avalanche are in a similar situation after trading for the expiring contract of Vladislav Namestnikov. If he doesn’t re-sign in Colorado they will have thrown away a fourth-round pick in the 2021 draft, much to the Ottawa Senators benefit. The Montreal Canadiens are also a team laughing about how they managed to earn a third-round selection after trading Ilya Kovalchuk to the Washington Capitals.

One of the largest deals ahead of the deadline was the Tampa Bay Lightning’s ability to pick up Blake Coleman from the New Jersey Devils for Nolan Foote and a 2020 first-round pick. Luckily for them, Coleman still has another season under contract after this one.

Perhaps the biggest trade for a player in his final year of a contract was for Tyler Toffoli. The Vancouver Canucks gave up a lot to get him. They sent the Kings a package of Tim Schaller, Tyler Madden, a 2020 second-round pick, and a 2022 conditional fourth-round pick. The Canucks should be working very hard to get Toffoli re-signed so that they can somewhat justify the spending.

The Toronto Maple Leafs should consider themselves lucky that they didn’t try and go after a rental player to help them try and make their way through the playoffs. There are no refunds on trades in the NHL.

Hopefully, the world finds ways to flatten the curve and resume normal behavior in time for the NHL to either complete the season or jump right into the playoffs. It’s too soon to know what is to come but luckily there’s still alternative entertainment.