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5 Deadline Trades That Impact Maple Leafs Stanley Cup Chances

By Stephen Nixon

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 13: Taylor Hall #71 of the Boston Bruins skates during the first period of a game against the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden on April 13, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 13: Taylor Hall #71 of the Boston Bruins skates during the first period of a game against the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden on April 13, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – APRIL 13: David Savard #58 of the Tampa Bay Lightning   (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /

No. 2: The Rich Get Richer, As Tampa Bay Acquires Savard

The Trade:

  • Tampa Bay Lightning acquire: David Savard and Brian Lashoff
  • Columbus Blue Jackets acquire: 2021 first-round pick (Tampa Bay’s) and a 2022 third-round pick
  • Detroit Red Wings acquire: 2021 fourth-round pick (Tampa Bay’s)

The Tampa Bay Lightning are the scariest team in the NHL. Not only did they cheat the Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) clause in the salary-cap, by getting the opportunity to add Nikita Kucherov in the playoffs for free, but now they have David Savard.

When you look at Tampa’s roster, they have the best goalie (Andrei Vasilevskiy), best defenseman (Victor Hedman) and two of the best offensive players in the world  (Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov).

Instead of sitting back and being content about the team they have, especially after they won the Stanley Cup last season, they decided they would go out and get the best defenseman available at the NHL Trade Deadline.

Well played, Tampa Bay.

Savard is a great defensive-defenseman, who blocks a ton of shots and can lay the body. In a playoff series, he’s not the player you want to go up against near the net or in the corners. Now that he’s paired beside Hedman, it’s going to be almost impossible to score a goal when those two are on the ice, and you know in the playoffs, that they’ll be playing 25-30 minutes per night.

Savard is a perfect addition to Tampa Bay and it barely cost them anything, thanks to the Red Wings retaining some of his salary as well. Draft picks are fine when you’re a rebuilder, but when you have a chance to win back-to-back Stanley Cup’s, they’re worth trading every day of the week.

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