I’m quite certain that some fans will politely disagree with my stance. But in reality, the Toronto Maple Leafs didn't need to make a splash at this year’s trade deadline.
The trade deadline is like trying to study for a test the night before. In that scenario, there are two types of students. The first is the student who studied all term, did their homework on time, gave up one or two weekends to review, and took notes in class. The second is the type of student who tried to get by the entire term, choosing to cram the last couple of nights before the test.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are the former and the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers are the latter.
The Leafs did their homework in the offseason when they could add players like Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson at reasonable free-agent rates. They shored up their goaltending situation by signing Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz.
They addressed other forward needs by keeping Max Domi, eventually re-signing Nick Robertson, bringing in Steven Lorentz on a dirt-cheap deal, and deflecting much of the distraction fueled by the Mitch Marner situation.
Now, the Leafs are in as good a spot as they’ve been in a long time. They have a healthy Auston Matthews (we hope), Calle Jarnkrok has come back into the fold, and with the exception of Tanev, there are no major injuries at the moment.
So, based on that logic, why would the Leafs need to pull off a major trade? The Leafs did their homework during summer school and are now much better prepared for the final test. following the trade deadline.
Laughton, Carlo key trade deadline additions for the Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs didn't stand pat at the trade deadline. They were rumoured to be in the mix for Mikko Rantanen all the way down to the wire. When that trade didn't happen, the Leafs pivoted to another rumoured player: Scott Laughton.
Laughton actually is an extremely minor addition, and since he's a natural left-winger, the Leafs didn't even really address their biggest need, however, they already had arguably the deepest group of forwards in the NHL, so this isn't really a big deal.
The deal that caught some of us offguard was the Brandon Carlo trade. But when the news broke, it was a welcome relief to see the Toronto Maple Leafs had done something to address another elephant in the room. The Leafs got the blue liner they needed, pushing the defensive corps to another level, though it still lacks that high-end option that would elevate it to being one of the better groups in the NHL.
The Leafs are now much more suited for the playoffs than before the deadline. The Leafs have virtually all of the pieces they need in place to make Berube's system function as it should. The final stretch of the season will help the Leafs finetune their pieces so that, come Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Leafs will be in a position to succeed.
I suppose that in an alternate universe, Rantanen comes to Toronto, but in the one we live in the Leafs are still a top team poised for a long playoff run.