The Toronto Maple Leafs are preparing for the Trade Deadline on Friday, but early moves are pouring in.
Just last week, the Toronto Maple Leafs missed out on Chris Tanev, a move I was first pleased with.
My thinking was that Tanev was not talented enough to be the Leafs’ primary upgrade, and their limited assets may be better spent. But then I saw how much the Leafs spent on Ilya Lyubushkin and determined that they should have just paid the price for Tanev because the difference between a first and a third, as well as a third and a sixth, is smaller than the difference between Tanev and Lyubushkin.
While the Leafs have yet to make another move, other NHL teams are getting in on the action early.
Trade Grades: Two Potential Trades Off the Board for the Leafs
The Minnesota Wild’s first move was to re-sign Zach Bogosian. This is a rather dull action that only has a minor impact on the Leafs: they can no longer trade for Bogosian.
I did not want them to, and now they cannot. I believe the Leafs have enough defense-only, one-dimensional players in their lineup and do not require any more. Bogosian was a Leaf a few years back and didn’t play particularly well. I’m glad to hear he’s staying in Minnesota.
The big news of the evening is the Golden Knights’ deal for Anthony Mantha, also known as Anthony Manthony.
Mantha has put up impressive numbers this season, and the Knights made an excellent move to acquire him tonight. Mantha comes with a 50% retained cap hit for only a second and fourth round pick.
The Knights get a guy who scores a lot in 5v5 and has the analytics to back it up. This is an A+ move for the Knights since they acquire an impact player at a significant bargain with almost no cap cost.
I’m not sure how they do it so consistently, but they’re a really well-run team. D- for the Capitals because they deserved more.
This is disappointing for the Toronto Maple Leafs since I was hoped they would sign Mantha as an enhancement to their lineup. I don’t think the Leafs need any wingers, but Mantha would be a significant upgrade over Nick Robertson, Calle Jarnkrok, or Bobby McMann.
