Toronto Maple Leafs Didn’t Burn One Prospect, and That’s a Win

The Toronto Maple Leafs were big winners at the NHL trade deadline.

Entering the deadline in first place, the Toronto Maple Leafs already knew they had a great team, and were on a 9-0-1 run.  The Leafs could have gone crazy, but instead they targeted the player they wanted and added in some depth.

I personally was hoping for  Taylor Hall, but the Leafs apparently were not interested. Given his eight million dollar cap hit, low production, and no movement clause, this probably doesn’t need a lot explanation.

The Leafs added Nick Foligno , as well as David Rittich and Ben Hutton. Overall, they improved their team defense, their ability to play a “playoff style game” and depth at every position.

Considering they were already the first place team in the league, that’s all you can really ask for.  You don’t want to get into a “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke” situation where you overplay your hand, so I think the Leafs really hit the sweet spot here.

Toronto Maple Leafs and the Trade Deadline

Not only did the Leafs thread the needle of the salary cap all the while making their team better and harder to play against, but they did it without giving up anything major.

The Leafs first round pick is – hopefully  – going to be a high second rounder.  At best it’s going to be in the late 20s, and while that has some value, it’s important to remember that after the top five picks everything is a complete crapshoot, where as the prospects they already have are quite a bit more than that.

If the Leafs want to continue to compete for years to come, they are going to have to develop some of their prospects and Rasmus Sandin and Nick Robertson, Rodion Amirov and others will be instrumental in doing so.

The Toronto Maple Leafs got the player they wanted, added depth at all positions, and didn’t touch their top prospects.  Timothy Liljegren, Sandin and Robertson could still play huge roles this season, let alone in the future.

It is impossible to overrate just how successful the deadline was in the context of keeping all the top prospects.  The Leafs basically upgraded for nothing, and kept all their insurance.

Much like Nylander’s ascension to super-star status, Kyle Dubas has become the best GM in the NHL and it’s getting harder and harder for his haters to find something to complain about.