The NHL Draft is tonight and the Toronto Maple Leafs are scheduled to pick 25.
Though they are scheduled to pick at 25, the Toronto Maple Leafs should not be making the pick.
The first round pick is a great asset and trading it can help them now. I am a fan of moving up and picking a better player, I’m a fan of moving down for more picks and I’m a fan of trading the pick for help in a different trade.
But drafting a boring late-rounder who likely won’t help for years? That would be a mistake.
Toronto Maple Leafs and the Draft
The Leafs are now free to pursue Darcy Kuemper after the Avalanche acquired Georgiev from the Rangers, but I don’t think they should or will.
Kuemper is injury prone and over 30. He will be insanely expensive and whoever signs him is paying him for something he’s already done. The Avs – who like the Leafs before them – understand that it isn’t necessary to spend big on a goalie and have made a smart bet on Georgiev.
If the Leafs had of won a round or two this year, I would have liked Georgiev for them. Unfortunately, due to all the lousy results over the last six years, I think the Leafs are the rare exception of a team that is in a position where spending to acquire one of the few elite goalies who exist actually makes sense for them.
This is a player whose shoulder will separate should a butterfly choose to land on it, and whose knee will turn to jello every third tuesday in alternating months. https://t.co/HEceO8BSgf
— Editor in Leaf (@EditorinLeaf) July 7, 2022
Any NHL goalie can perform like Jacob Markstrom did this past season, you just don’t know when or if it will happen. But there are only a few goalies who are reliable enough to truly count on.
The Leafs and their players and fans all need a goalie who a) was not a part of the previous six first round losses and b) gives a feeling of security and can steal games on his own.
Essentially the Leafs need Carey Price in his prime.
Or a reasonable proximity. Ilya Sorokin, Jordan Binnington, Connor Hellebyuck, Andrei Vasilevski, maybe still Price, I don’t know. Would Tukka Rask un-retire? The point is that a list of goalies who have turned in star performances for two or three straight years at this point is extremely small, and the Leafs are in such a unique position (in terms of being a great team but having an absolute ton of baggage) that the risk vs reward for dumping all your assets into getting a top goalie might actually make sense for them.
The Matt Murray rumours are pretty dumb, unless, that is, the Leafs would be getting paid to take on his ridiculous contract.
The Kris Letang contract is fine. If you win three Cups with a player, he deserves a golden parachute and no one cares if you win again or not. On the scale of delivering the goods for the right term and money, the contract is instantly one of the worst in the NHL. But when you factor in the Penguins taking care of their own and not being cut-throat jerks, it’s a solid move and a win for everyone across the sport.
One day, hopefully the Toronto Maple Leafs can give Timothy Liljegren the same kind of thanks.