Toronto Maple Leafs Roster Will Not Change Until NHL Trade Deadline

There's nothing more fun than summer trade speculation, but don't expect the Toronto Maple Leafs to make any moves until the NHL Trade Deadline.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs wanted to their improve their roster, they likeley would have by now. Sure, the team is likely worse than they were when the season ended, at least up front where Tyler Bertuzzi and (most likely) Nick Robertson are gone without having been replaced.

And it's true the team promised change and provided none, but don't expect them to suddenly do a .180 with training camp on the horizon.

Trading Mitch Marner is one of the dumbest things you could do right now and it was always a terrible idea. Was I was one of those people who thought Marner should have been traded immediately after Game 7 this year? Yes, of course I was. But that was the angry fan in me that didn't take a second to breathe and evaluate.

The Toronto Maple Leafs Are Not Going To Make a Trade Soon

There's no possibility of getting better when you trade Marner. There's also no chance of spending the money he makes in a better way. In the NHL star players are so valuable because they are underpaid vs the impact they make relative to other players, that unless you replace Marner with a recently drafted future superstar on an entry-level contract, there is little to no chance of getting better by re-investing his salary in several lesser players whose combined salary would equal Marner's.

Saying that the Leafs should trade Marner for a few first-round picks, prospects and a second-liner is not worth it. It might be the only way to win a trade, but you'd be trading a star for futures right as Auston Matthews hits his prime, which would make no sense.

As for other moves, the Leafs should trade Calle Jarnkrok, David Kampf and Ryan Reaves, but unfortunately it's not going to happen. Once training camp opens and the season commenses in October, all three of those players will be on the roster and we'll be yelling at the wasted amount of money being spent in the bottom-six.

Although we would love to see a bunch of moves, this team is good enough to win in the first few months of the regular season and wait until the NHL Trade Deadline to make a splash. They're going to make the playoffs again, so they can wait until then to trade for that second or third-line centre they need and maybe add another defenseman or top-six left-winger.

So if you were hoping for a big splash soon, give your head a shake because it's unfortunately not going to happen.