The Toronto Maple Leafs were having a big news day – until they were upstaged.
The Toronto Maple Leafs probably did not have Vladimir Tarasenko on their list of desired players, but if they did, they can scratch him off now.
Tarasenko has been traded to the New York Rangers, whose roster is looking more insane by the day.
The cost of the deal is not yet known, but a first rounder is going to the Blues, at least.
Meanwhile, the Leafs….
Toronto Maple Leafs Make Some News of Their Own
The Leafs signed Connor Timmins to a two year, dirt-cheap deal. Timmins was traded for Curtis Douglas and that trade is a hands-down win for the Leafs.
Timmins has posted great numbers and been very effective for the Leafs so far. He gives them a lot of options on the blue-line.
Especially with the deadline coming up.
In other news, Matt Murray has been put on the IR.
This is good news if it’s the LTIR and he never plays again for the Leafs. I am probably dreaming here, but the best use of Murray would be to get his cap hit back. The thing is, he’s so injured, so often, I bet you could shut him down without anyone looking at it twice.
Joseph Woll deserves to be in the NHL anyways, and Samsonov has been stolen the starting gig regardless of if Murray was in perfect health.
He’s unreliable, so it’s time to ditch him.
In addition to Woll, the Toronto Maple Leafs also recalled Alex Steeves, and, to the surprise of no one, Pontus Holmberg.
Woll and Holmberg were not surprises, as they were really only in the AHL because the Leafs had one game over 11 days during the NHL All Star break.
Steeves hasn’t gotten a call yet this year, but he did play three games last year (one assist).
This year in the AHL Steeves has played 44 games and has 38 points. Anyone approaching a point-per-game in the AHL is usually at the very least an NHL player. Will Steeves be anything more than a replacement player?
It’s hard to say. He will be competing with Anderson, Simmonds and Aston-Reese on the bottom of the Leafs lineup. I think he could provide a bit more scoring than at least two of those options, but really, it’s hard to have opinions on players like this.
He has more upside than the guys he is competing with, and it’s possible he’s traded as well. Overall, Murray being injured is the biggest news here.