NHL Trade Deadline: Toronto Maple Leafs vs the Atlantic Division
The Toronto Maple Leafs have improved their roster leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline.
After adding Ilya Lyubushkin just a few weeks ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs continued to bolster their blue-line by adding former Norris trophy winner Mark Giordano. They also added Colin Blackwell, but some of their greatest divisional competition improved as well.
Everybody has their guesses at who the winners and losers were at trade deadline, but right now it’s impossible to tell.
A lot of valuable picks and prospects exchanged hands, and we won’t see who those picks turn into for years to come. The real winner may only be the team holding the Stanley Cup at the end of the season.
There were a lot of moves around the deadline, and it seems like a lot of information if you look at every piece of every trade. I want to simplify things and look at just the roster players acquired and traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs and other the top teams in the Atlantic Division to see how they stack up.
All of these players were traded during the 2022 calendar year and are roster players. There are no picks, prospects or minor leaguers on this list: (stats and trade info from hockeydb.com and CapFriendly.com)
Let’s compare how the Toronto Maple Leafs did relative to their divisional rivals.
The Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers Acquire:
Claude Giroux (C/RW)
Ben Chiarot (D)
Robert Hägg (D)
Florida Panthers Trade:
Frank Vatrano (W)
The Florida Panthers grabbed the best forward available in Claude Giroux who will likely be their second line centre. Claude Giroux, who is putting up elite WAR numbers even at his advanced age, has 42 points in 52 games so far this season.
When everyone’s healthy, Chiarot will probably be on the second pairing and Hägg is probably their seventh defenseman. Even if you’re a Chiarot fan, his stats are not good, so there is at least a debate to be had about how much this helps.
Vatrano played on Florida’s fourth line, so not a big loss. Their biggest loss is losing Aaron Ekblad’s to injury for the rest of the season. I’d say the Florida Panthers look to be the biggest winners of the deadline in the Atlantic Division so far.
However, it really depends on Ekblad’s injury. If he doesn’t return, or returns and isn’t the star he was previously, adding Giroux won’t make up for that. Still, you have to respect the Giroux add, since no one else really added a star player, barring a renaissance from Mark Giordano.
The Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning Acquire:
Brandon Hagel (W)
Nick Paul (C/LW)
Tampa Bay Lightning Trade:
Mathieu Joseph (F)
Taylor Raddysh (RW)
Boris Katchouk (LW)
Hagel is definitely an upgrade who could play as high as Tampa’s second line. The young winger is signed beyond this season and could be a truly great pick-up.
He could also be a flash in the pan currently riding the waves of a shooting-streak bender. Even if that’s the case however, he improves the team because he’s a player who can be effective even if he isn’t racking up goals.
In my opinion, there really isn’t much difference between Paul and Joseph though – they’re both third line players on Tampa. Raddysh and Katchouk both played low fourth line minutes for Tampa.
Tampa Bay basically traded two fourth liners for a maybe second or third line player. It’s an improvement but nothing spectacular. They also paid a fortune to make it happen.
The Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins Acquire:
Hampus Lindholm (D)
Joshua Brown (D)
Boston grabbed perhaps the top defenseman available in Hampus Lindholm. The cost to do so was a first, two seconds, and two prospects. Given that Lindholm is a player who hasn’t put up great numbers lately, it’s an awful lot to bet that that is just because he was playing on a bad team.
There is the potential for a great reward with this trade, but the risk is very high. Also, consider that in order to fit Lindholm in on their top pairing the Bruins actually broke up the NHL’s best 5v5 defense pairing, which potentially undermines the improvement.
He’ll be a top pairing defenseman for Boston, and Brown will be their 7th or 8th defenseman. Boston did a good job upgrading their defense without giving up anyone from their NHL roster, and if it leads to victory, then the futures obviously won’t hurt so bad.
The Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire:
Mark Giordano (D)
Ilya Lyubushkin (D)
Colin Blackwell (F)
Toronto Maple Leafs Trade:
Travis Dermott (D)
I’d say after the Panthers, the Toronto Maple Leafs improved their roster more than any other team in the Atlantic Division. Lyubushkin was a third pairing defenseman in Arizona, but he’s been proving to be a great value pick up, and has looked good playing with Morgan Rielly on the top pairing.
Mark Giordano is starting off on the third pairing, but that is just the way it was written down – he ended up fourth on the team in 5v5 ice-time, and fourth overall in his first game.
Who knows how the Leafs may change their pairings when Jake Muzzin returns from injury and Brodie moves back to the right side. I’m guessing former Calgary Flames teammates Giordano and T.J. Brodie will reunite on a pairing that will play more than a Muzzin/Justin Holl pairing.
Colin Blackwell will give the fourth line a boost, and Travis Dermott would’ve been the Toronto Maple Leafs ninth defenseman with the arrival of Lyubushkin and Giordano.
Next. Who is Colin Blackwell?. dark
I hope these new additions have a strong presence throughout the rest of the season and give the Toronto Maple Leafs a boost in the playoffs. In the end, Florida added the best player, but the Leafs improved their team the most relative to the cost it took to do so.