Ladies and gentlemen, the Toronto Maple Leafs are officially all-in.
That may have been true before Tuesday. GM Kyle Dubas had already acquired Ryan O’Reilly, Noel Acciari, Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty, making his team deeper, stronger and more prepared for the playoffs in the process. But we sensed more moves were on the way.
In one Tuesday afternoon the Maple Leafs swung three trades, acquiring Luke Schenn, Erik Gustafsson and a 2023 first-round draft pick, leaning into this playoff run while getting back into Round 1 of what’s projected as one of the deepest draft classes in years. Whether the Leafs use that pick to select a prospect, or flip it for another NHL player by Friday, remains to be seen.
This time the Leafs needed to subtract from their roster, though, and said goodbye to both Rasmus Sandin (to Washington) and Pierre Engvall (to the NY Islanders).
Are they done now?
With a projected $4.77 million of deadline cap space (via CapFriendly) Toronto now has enough space to activate Matt Murray off IR and send Joseph Woll back to the AHL, which could happen in a matter of days. If they are to take more action, it may require finding a new home for Murray, and acquiring another netminder — though there aren’t many difference-makers available at the position. Beyond Joonas Korpisalo, there might be no other affordable, confidence-inspiring options.
So, maybe, the Leafs are done and this is their team for the playoffs, but with nine defencemen on the pro roster, we wonder if another option for further moves is to trade someone from that group.
The bottom line is — there are still trade options for the Leafs days before the deadline.
Toronto is better today than they were last week and Dubas is aggressively positioning his team to break through in the playoffs.
They will either get past Round 1 for the first time since 2004, or we’ll be dealing with some of the most epic reactions to a first-round defeat in Leafs history.
After a busy afternoon of dealing, we turn to our scout Jason Bukala for his take on the Leafs’ trades…
SCOUT’S ANALYSIS
The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to be the most active team in the buildup to the 2023 trade deadline.
Here’s my breakdown from a hockey operations perspective:
Toronto Receives
• Luke Schenn
Vancouver Receives
• 2023 third-round pick
This breakdown is easy for me. Schenn brings a heavy, hard style of game to the Leafs’ back end. He’s been sitting out recently anticipating a trade and still leads the entire NHL with 258 hits.
Schenn can match-up against third line opponents at even strength and roll over the boards on one of the Leafs’ primary penalty killing units. Although he isn’t the quickest or fastest skater, he has made adjustments to his game. His routes, angling and taking away space have improved year over year.
He’s a Stanley Cup champion and a leader on and off the ice.
Toronto Receives
• Erik Gustafsson
• 2023 first-round pick (via Boston)
Washington Receives
• Rasmus Sandin
This is a deal that provides the Leafs with some cap flexibility. On balance these are similar style players. Gustafsson is on an expiring contract that costs $800,000 against the cap. Sandin has another year left on his $1.4 million deal. He will be an RFA at its conclusion.
Here’s a break down of the players and draft asset moved in this deal…
Gustafsson is a veteran, transitional, defender who can quarterback one of the Leafs’ power-play units. I have to be honest, there have been times in the past I questioned his decision making and overall game management. To be fair, he has improved his detail a great deal this year and his stats speak to the improvement (seven goals, 38 points in 61 games). Gustafsson isn’t punishing. He will block shots on occasion, but it’s not an area of strength. The bulk of his minutes come at even strength and the power-play.
Here’s a look at his stats, so far, this season:
As a former NHL Director of Scouting I’m selfishly impressed with the fact Kyle Dubas was able to obtain a 2023 first round pick in the deal with the Capitals. It can’t be understated how important this portion of the transaction is. This draft is very deep and the Leafs now have an opportunity to add an excellent prospect to their organization, despite the selection being as late as it is.
Potential targets for the pick include:
• Kalan Lind (Forward – Red Deer WHL)
• Tom Willander (Defenceman – Rogle – SHL)
• Lukas Dragicevic (Defenceman – Tri-City – WHL)
• Oliver Bonk (Defenceman – London – OHL)
All of these players were on my top 40 prospects list for the 2023 draft, which we released in early February.
| READ MORE: JASON BUKALA’S TOP 40 FOR THE 2023 NHL DRAFT |
Shifting to Washington’s side of the trade…
Sandin, in my opinion, maxed out the current state of his game with the Leafs. He’s a young NHL defenceman who still has a ton of growth on the horizon. He distributed pretty well on the power-play, joined the rush on occasion, and attempted to finish his checks regularly. His overall game management was a concern for me, however, and although Gustafsson isn’t an elite defender, he is an upgrade on Sandin right now.
Washington gets a youthful defenceman in the deal, one they have team control over for the next couple years.
Here’s a look at Sandin’s stats from this year in Toronto:
Toronto Receives
• 2024 third-round pick
NY Islanders Receives
• Pierre Engvall
Toronto receiving a third-round pick in exchange for Engvall is sound business, in my opinion. I don’t want to beat the player up on his way out the door, but Engvall for his stature (6-foot-5, 215 pounds) isn’t hard enough to play against and doesn’t make up for it by being elite in any other categories.
CONCLUSION
There is no question the Toronto Maple Leafs have become a much more physical and hard team to play against in the past few days. They have added identifiable depth to their roster at forward and defence. The team is better positioned for playoff success than it was just days ago.
The subtle additions of draft capital is also a massive bonus — whether it’s used to select a player, or for another move later.