Grading the 3 most recent Toronto Maple Leafs trades
The Toronto Maple Leafs made three moves on Tuesday, improving their chances of winning a Stanley Cup this year. Although the hard-work is still months away, general manager Kyle Dubas has set this team up for success, as it feels like this is the best roster the Toronto Maple Leafs have had in years.
Toronto has had successful regular seasons over the past five years, but they haven’t gone all-in at an NHL Trade Deadline like this before. They’ve obviously made moves to improve their team, but it’s usually only been one or two transactions, unlike the five they’ve already made.
And the NHL Trade Deadline is still 72 hours away.
Over the next few days, the Leafs could make another trade or two and really change the look of this roster, although it feels pretty much set right now. The bottom-six has a new look and the team’s defensive group is older and bigger.
As a result, there’s no reason to believe that they can’t get the job done and finally win a playoff round this year. We’ll obviously have to wait and see what happens, but this year feels different and the make-up of this roster looks much harder to play against than in years past.
Let’s take a look at the three most recent Toronto Maple Leafs’ trades and grade them accordingly.
No. 1: Luke Schenn
- Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: Luke Schenn
- Vancouver Canucks acquire: 2023 3rd Round Pick
At first, I was against the Leafs trading for former draft pick Luke Schenn, but now that it’s a reality, I kind of love the move and here’s the reason why.
If Schenn was going to be the only addition, then this wasn’t the right trade to make, but after acquiring Jake McCabe earlier this week, it slots Schenn into a perfect role as the team’s No. 6 defenseman or depth piece in the press box.
At 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, the right-handed defenseman gives the Leafs a different look in their bottom-six and makes them harder to play against. I thought the team would go more towards skill with someone who can push the puck up the ice, but going with Schenn will make them more physical, which is important.
Although giving up a third-rounder feels like a little much for a veteran rental defenseman, the team got one right back in the Pierre Engvall trade, so it’s all good.
Grade: A-
No. 2: Pierre Engvall
- Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: 2024 3rd Round Pick
- New York Islanders acquire: Pierre Engvall
I love this trade so much and am incredibly happy that Engvall won’t be on this roster in the playoffs. There were a lot of Engvall supporters, but I never really understood the hype, as he seemed like a very replaceable player.
His size made him very appealing, but the problem was, he never used it to his advantage. If he was physical and was a pest in front of the net, then he could have been a $4M player, but the fact that he had zero physicality and hasn’t scored a goal in the playoffs makes him expendable.
Since the Leafs had to give up a third-round pick in the Schenn deal, this trade is basically a wash and a salary dump for Toronto, as Engvall’s contract needed to be moved to stay under the cap.
Engvall has been given a long leash by Dubas and Keefe, but his time was up. His contribution was not worth $2.25M and it’s a blessing knowing that he will not be on the roster when the team starts the playoffs this year.
Grade: B+
No. 3: Rasmus Sandin
- Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: Erik Gustafsson, 2023 1st Round Pick
- Washington Capitals acquire: Rasmus Sandin
It’s hard to believe that Sandin’s time in Toronto is finally gone. It wasn’t that long ago that it felt like Timothy Liljegren and Sandin were going to be the face of the Leafs’ blue-line for the next decade.
However, Sandin’s been having a hard time staying in the line-up and after the McCabe trade, he felt like the odd-man out. So, instead of keeping him unhappy in Toronto, the team made a good decision trading him in exchange for Gustafsson and a first-round pick.
After trading multiple picks over the past few weeks, regaining a 2023 first-round pick is very important for Toronto. It not only gives them a great opportunity to draft a good prospect this year, but it gives them one more trade-chip if they want to make another move between now and the deadline.
Gustafsson gives the Leafs a different look on the blue-line as well, as he’s been having a fantastic year offensively. He’ll more than likely slot-in as the team’s No. 7 defenseman, but it doesn’t mean he won’t play meaningful hockey in April and beyond.
Next. Leafs have two-year window now. dark
Depending on the opposition, or an injury, his offensive abilities from the blue-line could come in handy and you can never have too many legitimate NHL defensemen in the system.
Grade: B