The Toronto Maple Leafs must avoid falling into the trade deadline hype by making a desperate move such as acquiring a player like Seth Jones.
Before delving into the specifics of why the Toronto Maple Leafs must avoid a trade like this, some context. On Saturday, the Florida Panthers and Chicago Blackhawks engaged in a mildly shocking trade. The Panthers acquired Seth Jones, and a fair chunk of his contract, from the Blackhawks for a 2026 first-round pick and goalie Spencer Knight.
Knight was kind of expendable as the Panthers still have Sergei Bobrovsky going strong. But what ruffled my feathers was the first round the Panthers gave up to get Jones.
Now, if this had been a top-tier defenseman like, say, Miro Heiskanen or Devon Toews, I’d say the Panthers fleeced the Blackhawks.
But this is a 30-something blue liner whose best days are likely behind him. Perhaps falling into the black hole that Chicago has become could have affected his play. But let’s face it: Giving up a solid young goaltender and a first-round pick (in a draft that’s supposed to be one of the deepest in years) is a bit of a head-scratcher.
While the Blackhawks retained roughly 26% of Jones’ cap hit, the Panthers are still on the hook for $7 million over the next five seasons. If Jones works out to be a replacement for Brandon Montour, great, the Panthers hit a home run. But the odds are firmly stacked against them.
So, that brings me to the Leafs. The Leafs must avoid making a desperate move like the Panthers did. If Matthew Tkachuk hadn’t gone down with what looks like a season-ending groin injury, there’s no way they make this deal.
In all likelihood, the Panthers made a splash for the sake of making a splash. They didn’t want to make it seem to their fans that they weren’t going to go for back-to-back Cups.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Cannot Afford to Mortgage the Future
This trade deadline season has been filled with talk about the Leafs going after players like the Schenn brothers or Scott Laughton. Heck, there were even some rumblings about J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Mikko Rantanen.
But the fact of the matter is that the Leafs cannot mortgage the future for a washed-up vet like Jones. Doing so, while certainly making headlines, would do little to advantage the Toronto Maple Leafs playoff chances.
Think of the botched trades involving Ryan O’Reilly and Nick Foligno. There guys were supposed to be difference-makers. While O’Reilly played fairly well, he bolted the first chance he got.
If the Leafs are serious about making a splash, younger, more useful players make sense. Jake Evans was one who could have made an impact. He signed an extension with the Montreal Canadiens so that’s the end of that for now.
Another player that got traded this week was Trent Frederic. While Frederic would not have been a top-line guy, he could have filled a significant void and he is still in his twenties.
So, with players like Brock Nelson, Gourde, or perhaps Ryan Donato, the Leafs would do well to kick the tires, but only pull the trigger if the deal makes sense. Overpaying for a run-on-the-mill veteran isn’t going to cut it this time around.
The Toronto Maple Leafs need to get an impact player who can contribute to the team’s needs immediately, as they look to, at the very least, make a deep playoff run this season.