Brad Treliving's First Deadline as Toronto Maple Leafs GM Was a Flop
The Toronto Maple Leafs had multiple needs to address at this year’s trade deadline. They failed to address most of them.
The Toronto Maple Leafs mainly needed to upgrade their blue-line with at least one star player, and could have used at least one or two forwarsd better than what they ended up with. Additionally, a goalie because it's risky to enter the playoffs with a rookie goalie and a guy who was recently on waivers.
While teams around the league acquired top names off of trade boards to bolster their lineup, the Leafs opted instead to bolster their depth and hoard their propects.
They failed to acquire players that fit their most dire needs and had to pivot for alternative options.
By the time the clock struck 3:00 pm on deadline day, the Leafs had acquired Ilya Lyubushkin, Joel Edmundson, Connor Dewar, and the rights to Cade Webber and Kirill Slepets.
In total they made four trades, trading six draft picks, one prospect, and no roster players despite much speculation.
For a team to trade that many assets and not meet one of their major needs, it is without a doubt a failed deadline.
Let’s look at the players the Leafs acquired.
Brad Treliving's First Deadline as Toronto Maple Leafs GM Was a Flop
Ilya Lyubushkin
The Maple Leafs reacquired the right-shot defender in a three-way deal with the Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes.
They sent a 2025 third round pick to Anaheim and a 2024 sixth round pick to Carolina to get his contract 75% retained. This means his caphit with the Leafs is now $687,500.
The Leafs also acquired the rights to former Hurricanes’ draft pick Kirill Slepets. (All Contract Information ViaCapFriendly.com).
Slepets is essentially a non-factor, he is currently a depth piece with Amur Khabarovsk and at 24-years-old his NHL projection is almost nothing.
Lyubushkin on the other hand, has already slotted on the top-pair beside Morgan Rielly for multiple games. So far, the early returns are positive with the pairing sporting an above-50% xG rating in every game so far together.
However, it is still a small sample size and if we learned anything from last time it is that this pairing could become exposed come round one. My original analysis of the trade has not changed and despite the early returns, I do not see this move working longterm.
Joel Edmundson
Nearly a week after acquiring Lyubushkin, the Leafs acquired Edmundson from the Washington Capitals for a 2024 third round pick and a 2025 fifth round pick.
Edmundson came with 50% retention putting his new AAV at $875,000 for the remainder of the year.
It is unclear exactly where he will suit up come playoff time but given the price paid, he will likely be a regular in the lineup.
He was on my list for players the Leafs should stay away from at the deadline, but they did not listen. Optimistically, he is a big body that can help clear the netfront and hopefully stop opposing forwards from advancing and break-up cycles.
Hopefully he is able to thrive in a defensive role with the Leafs but if his performance elsewhere is any indication, this could be bad.
Cade Webber
The Leafs followed up the Edmundson deal by acquiring the rights to 23-year-old Hurricanes’ prospect Cade Webber for a 2026 sixth round pick.
Webber is a 6-6 left shot defenseman and is in his senior year at Boston University of the NCAA. He is a defensive defenseman through and through, having registered only 16 points in nearly 120 career NCAA games so far.
He would have been a free agent come August 15th if left unsigned but now is eligible to join the Leafs’ AHL affiliate the Toronto Marlies on an ATO (or sign his ELC with the club) at the end of the season as they push for a calder cup.
It is clear that the Leafs see value in acquiring Webber and think there is at least some chance that he could be an NHL player one day.
He already has five years of development after his draft year and is a mature prospect that has a much better chance of playing meaningful games for the Leafs before the player picked using that 2026 sixth rounder.
Agree or disagree but there is at least some utility for a team in the Leafs’ situation to use a sixth to buy a fast-tracked prospect.
Connor Dewar
Treliving finished his first deadline as Leafs GM by trading prospect Dmitry Ovchinnikov and a 2025 fourth round pick to the Minnesota Wild for forward Connor Dewar.
There was no retention on Dewar as he only makes $800,000 and is an RFA at the end of this season with arbitration rights.
Dewar is primarily a fourth line leftwing/center who possesses above average defensive abilities given his usage.
He will be 25 by the time his deal is up and although he has mainly been a fourth line player thus far, with his speed, forechecking ability, and his production this season, there are indications he could play slightly higher up in the lineup.
I would not get my hopes up though, as he will likely stay as a fourth line/extra forward but could move up to a third line role if need be.
Conclusion
Overall, the Toronto Maple Leafs entered the deadline period with clear needs and did not seem to really address those needs in any meaningful way.
They needed extra forward support, likely in the way of a middle-six center but were unable to pull the trigger. Even acquiring extra offensive support in a middle-six winger would have been suffice. They did address a weakness however, by acquiring Dewar who should help the team’s overall defensive abilities upfront.
They also needed help on defense, mainly a top-four right-handed defenseman at least but acquired Edmundson, a lefty, and Lyubushkin who do not really fit that mould. So far, the Rielly-Lyubushkin pairing has worked but as I said before, it did last time until it was exposed in the playoffs.
The Leafs held onto their first round pick and their main prospects but did part with many picks over the next three drafts and prospect Dmitry Ovchinnikov. (All Stats Via Moneypuck.com).
In total, the Leafs traded a 2024 and 2025 third rounder, a 2026 fourth, 2025 fifth, and a 2024 and 2026 sixth. That is a lot of picks to trade and to not address any of the two most prominent needs. This is especially the case when Adam Henrique, Alex Wennberg, and Jack Roslovic all went for relatively cheap and could have fit one of those needs.
In the most optimistic sense, these are underwhelming acquisitions. It remains to be seen whether these moves work or not but they do not inspire a lot of confidence.
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The Leafs undoubtedly are a heavier and tougher team today than they were two weeks ago and some say that will work in the playoffs but if history has shown us anything, they could leave the Maple Leafs much more exposed to the opposition’s attack come playoff time.