Did the Toronto Maple Leafs make the single worst UFA signing of the summer?

Oliver Ekman-Larsson

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the most frustrating team in the NHL. On one hand, they have a great roster that has a nice mix of superstars and up-and-coming potential stars. On the other hand, they have a bumbling fool of a GM who has no idea what he's doing.

Last summer, Treliving had $20 million to spend and an easy path away from Kyle Dubas Studs and Duds Salary Cap Strategy, all he had to do was trade William Nylander for a defenseman and call it a day.

Nylander even paved the way for a trade by starting last season on an MVP-like tear that of course he couldn't keep up. But of course, the Leafs signed him right at the peak of the insanity for the absolute most money possible.

As far as improving the team though, Treliving basically took the entire season off. He stuck with Ilya Samsonov and didn't even get a new goalie when he was forced to waive Samsonov in January. At the deadline, he did nothing but minor moves that wasted draft picks but actually made the team worse.

Treliving signed Nylander and he signed Matthews. There is nothing wrong with that, but he didn't do anything else. If he was going to stick with the core four he should have been more careful about throwing away money on mid-range players, but it's a lesson he can't seem to grasp.

Anyone expecting a better off-season this time around was massively disappointed. Treliving changed nothing and all he did was add Chrs Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, two defenseman whose combined age is nearly 70.

Tanev, at least, is still at the top of his game. Ekman-Larsson has been in decline for years.

Last year OEL played the role of left-side defenseman on Florida's 3rd pairing. He was on a one-year $2.25 million dollar deal.

Last year OEL scored 0.9 points per 60, while adding a 56% Corsi, 55% Goals-For and 54% Expected Goals Rating.

Playing the exact same role on a simlar team, Mark Giordano scored at a rate of 0.76 Points per 60, while adding a 55% Corsi, 56% Goals-For and 54% Expected Goals Rating.

The two players put up the exact same numbers in the same role. Only thing is Gio did it for half the price. The Leafs didn't care. "OEL" is a brand name and casual fans will think the team added another star. It makes the GM look good because very few people are going to realize that they forced the guy willing to play for the league minimum into retirement while hiring a guy that is literally no better for 4 x the money and with a bizarre four year commitment.

This is maybe the worst contract handed out in the entire NHL this summer. While I have listed three other options below, the fact is none of those teams forced a guy into retirement to replace him with someone who just put up identical numbers for 4x the money and term. (all stats naturalstattrick.com).