Lyubushkin Trade Looks Worse + Trades + Avalanche Put on Master Class

The Toronto Maple Leafs traded for Ilya Lyubushkin last week, and it is clear by now that they drastically overpaid.

Lots of Toronto Maple Leafs fans remember Lyubushkin fondly from the last time he was here but that has to do more with hockey fans in general massively overrating players who throw big hits because it looks like they are always trying hard.

In reality, Ilya Lyubushkin was played way too high in the lineup last time he was here and the Leafs did a lot worse with him playing than they did without him. He stunk.

His re-acquisition was not quite as embarrassing as losing to a Zamboni driver or giving a three-year deal to Ryan Reaves, but it was really dumb.

Even at the time it looked bad, but since then it just looks crazy.

Toronto Maple Leafs Clearly Overpaid as Other Teams Rake in the Stars

It has been reported that the Leafs were in on Chris Tanev until the very end, and that they just wouldn't up their offer. At first I thought this was smart.

However, if a 1st and 3rd would get you Tanev, you have to consider the difference between a 1st round pick and the sixth you paid to get Lyubushkin. Pick 25 and pick 190 aren't as big of a gap as there is between Tanev and Lyubushkin so if the Leafs were willing to spend what they did on Lyubushkin they should have just paid for Tanev.

But it gets worse.