The fallout from the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Kirill Marchenko trade continues to make its way into the public light.
While there has been plenty of talk since the deal happened on Tuesday, new details have begun to emerge on Thursday morning.
And they come from insider Elliotte Friedman in the latest edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast.
During the show, Friedman pointed to two major reasons why the Maple Leafs had to make the Marchenko deal happen.
Let’s get into it.
Maple Leafs had the best player Columbus could have gotten
Friedman pointed out that the Maple Leafs had the best player available that Columbus could have gotten from anyone in the deal.
“They had the best player available, Matthew Knies. And I think Columbus would admit that. They knew that they could get Knies from Toronto potentially in this deal. And it was going to be impossible to get somebody else as young, as cost-controlled, and as talented as he is.”
In other words, Columbus wasn’t going to do better than Knies. That’s an interesting point because later on in the show, Friedman pointed out that the Montreal Canadiens were unwilling to give up a player like that. In fact, Montreal’s package was largely based around futures, something that the Blue Jackets were unwilling to do.
This first point underscores how the Maple Leafs had to give up a good player to get Marchenko. And considering how weary Knies had become of the trade speculation, it makes sense that he was the piece to go the other way.
Toronto was willing to take on Columbus’ problem contracts
The other thing to keep in mind is that the Maple Leafs were willing to take on Columbus’ problem contracts. Specifically, we’re talking about Miles Wood and Elvis Merzlikins.
“The second reason was one of the things the Maple Leafs have been absolutely unafraid to do in the cap era, is use their financial muscle, flex it.”
Friedman made this point clear by highlighting the contracts in question.
“They took the Merzlikins deal, and they took the Miles Wood deal.”
Even though the Leafs took on the problem contracts, John Chayka was trying to do something about it.
“Now, I think they were trying to flip Miles Wood. Also that day, I think they were trying to work on trades to see if they could move him elsewhere. But obviously that didn’t happen.”
The notable insider underscored that Wood is in the AHL at the moment and might see some time with the Maple Leafs at some point this season. So, Leafs fans may not have seen the last of the 31-year-old bottom-six forward.
Ultimately, the Maple Leafs wanted to make a splash, and they did. Perhaps the most important point in all of this is that the Leafs were willing to wrestle a sophisticated weapon away from a division rival.
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