Toronto Maple Leafs: Nick Foligno Instant Trade Analysis

The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Nick Foligno last night, prior to today’s NHL trade deadline. 

The Toronto Maple Leafs payed a high cost to acquire a 33 year-old player on an expiring contract.

The trade needed some maneuvering as Dubas’ trades usually do. It involved three teams. Toronto got Foligno and Stefan Noesen, the Columbus Blue Jackets got Toronto’s 2021 first-round and 2022 fourth-round pick, and the San Jose Sharks got Toronto’s 2021 fourth-round pick.

Nick Foligno was one of the biggest names on the market. He is a big-body forward that is more than reliable defensively. He is better defensively than 90 percent of the players in the NHL over the last three seasons.

Above, you see a player card for the new member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. JFresh does a fantastic job breaking down where he ranks in different areas compared to others.

Offensively, there is not much you can ask of him. He failed to reach 40+ points since the ’16-’17 season. The good thing is Dubas didn’t seek his offensive abilities, but rather his defensive.

Nick will likely slide in on Toronto’s penalty kill and could potentially play anywhere in the lineup.

His $5.5 million cap is a concern, but not for Dubas. He got the Jackets to retain 50 percent and the Sharks to take another 50 percent of what was remaining. That means he joins the Leafs with 25 percent of his cap hit.

Stefan Noesen is a 28-year-old that hasn’t been able to play well in the NHL. Coming from the Sharks organization, he is a high-end AHL player/depth NHL player.

He has played well in the AHL, averaging one point-per-game last season and 0.5 points per game this season. In the NHL, he has 17 points in 86 games over the past three seasons.

Noesen probably won’t play for the Leafs in anything more than an emergency situation, and his inclusion in the trade was mostly likely just to make the numbers work.