For those hoping for a saviour to save the Toronto Maple Leafs season, the quiet passing of the NHL trade deadline was undoubtedly disappointing. While other Eastern Conference teams prepared for playoff battles, Toronto General Manager Brad Treliving was only able to complete three modest transactions.
Newcomers Connor Dewar, Joel Edmundson, and prospect Cade Webber are unlikely to have a significant impact on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ chances of success in the future. But was it realistic to anticipate much more from an organization that lacked trade capital and did not appear to be a Stanley Cup contender?
At last year’s trade deadline, previous general manager Kyle Dubas traded draft picks for Ryan O’Reilly, Luke Schenn, and Noel Acciari, none of whom remained when the season ended. The payoff for “loading up,” “going all in,” or whatever you want to call it was a single playoff round win.
This year’s squad has more voids than last season’s, thus it made little sense to trade Easton Cowan, Fraser Minten, or a first-round draft pick to appease those shouting for Treliving to “do something”.
Toronto Maple Leafs Need More from Their Stars.
For better or worse, this team is committed to the Core 4 approach for at least one more season, and no amount of shifting deck chairs on this ship will change that. The Leafs’ playoff fate will be determined by the performance of their key players.
After next season, John Tavares’ $11 million cap hit (per CapFriendly.com) is off the books, Mitch Marner will certainly sign a rich long-term contract, and the salary cap will continue to rise. The Toronto Maple Leafs will continue to have three highly paid great forwards. That is a nice thing.
For the time being, as annoying as it is (as a fan) to watch your club spin its wheels as the opposition adds players for the playoffs, patience is perhaps the best course of action.
Does this mean I’m pleased with Brad Treliving’s first year as showrunner? Absolutely not. However, his blunders occurred last summer, not last week.
Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, Ryan Reaves, and John Klingberg’s offseason signings have all failed, the fact that a dreadful defense corps has not been considerably enhanced is mystifying, and the bet on not getting stronger goaltender appears exceedingly doubtful at best.
To make matters worse, spending the organization’s precious blue chip assets to acquire rental players or older veterans for another unsuccessful attempt at playoff success would have been unforgiveable.
This summer, Treliving will have to rethink his strategy for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sometimes the best trades are those you don’t make.
