Leafs Trade Deadline Summary

 

Photo From The Leafs Nation

Just a heads up for readers I added to this article as updates were happening so if you are wondering why, it sounds like I am jumping all over the place with news it is because I was updating on the fly.

 

So, I decided to wait untill Monday to write my next article because I figured waiting to talk about the Leafs had done on trade deadline day would be the better option because I felt it would be full of Leafs news. I am starting this just before 6:00 in the morning and the 3pm deadline just over nine hours away here is what has happened in Leaf land so far.

After fall to the Nashville Predators on Saturday night after the game it was no secret changes would be made and Sunday saw GM Kyle Dubas get right to work. It started with Toronto being active on the Waiver wire as Kyle Clifford, Nick Robertson, and Timothy Liljegren were all listed by Toronto. Now, it’s believed that Clifford will clear and go back to the AHL’s Marlies and of course Robertson and Liljegren can be sent down without any risk of being claimed but the biggest Waiver move by the Leafs was placing Petr Mrazek on Waivers as well. I am sure everyone has seen my thoughts on Mrazek in my most recent articles but the signing of Mrazek simply just didn’t work. Mrazek who is in the first year of a three year deal carrying a 3.8 million dollar price tag each season was a costly one for Dubas, but honestly in my opinion for the most part the signings that Kyle made in Free Agency for this team have been positive and the signings that haven’t worked have been turned into something, remember last month Nick Ritchie was traded to Arizona for Ilya Lyubushkin who has so far been a solid addition defensively for the Leafs. With Mrazek on waivers of course if he claimed the Leafs will have full relief of his contract but if he clears Toronto will get around 1.2 million dollars in cap relief. Dubas would then go and announce the signing of Finnish goalie Harri Sateri who played this season in the KHL with Sibir Novosibirsk where he posted a record of 14-16-5 with a 2.02 Goals Against Average and a 926 save percentage. Sateri also backstopped Finland to Olympic Hockey gold in Beijing where he went 5-0 with a GAA of 1.00 a save percentage of 936 with one shutout. Sateri has had NHL experience appearing in nine games for the Florida Panthers back in the 17-18 season, in his nine appearances he went 4-4 with a GAA just under 3 and a 911 save percentage. Sateri was signed for the remainder of this season and playoffs to a 1-year deal worth the league minimum but will have to clear Waivers before joining the Leafs because he is coming from a separate professional league, so 2pm this afternoon is also an important deadline for Dubas and his Leafs.

With all the Waiver action by Toronto yesterday it built the anticipation that a trade was coming. For the last few weeks, we fans had heard that Toronto was interested in defenseman Mark Giordano but Seattle’s asking price was believed to be too high as Seattle wanted a package that included first round picks. Unlike their division counterparts who gave away their first-round picks, Boston for Hampus Lindholm, Tampa for Brandon Hagel, and Florida to land Claude Giroux Kyle Dubas dug in his heels and maintained that he would not give away his teams first round selection. I am sure fans thought that a possible trade for Giordano would be doubtful without a first rounder being involved but at 3pm every single insider involved in hockey confirmed that Mark Giordano was coming home to the Maple Leafs. Usually, the full trade details are announced within ten or fifteen minutes, but we would have to wait and speculate for two hours because at 5pm last night the full trade was finally announced.

 

The Toronto Maple Leafs had acquired Mark Giordano and forward Colin Blackwell for two second round picks and a third with Seattle retaining 50% of Giordano’s 7-million-dollar cap hit. Giordano who is 38 may not be the same defenseman that won a Norris Trophy a few years ago but he is still a strong addition. He is someone who plays with great awareness in his end of the rink, he likes to play physical throwing his body around. Turnovers have been an issue with the Leafs blue line well the addition of Giordano will likely clean some of that up because Mark is usually very calm and confident with the puck in his own zone. In Seattle Mark was on the first powerplay unit, I don’t know if he will replace Morgan Rielly on Toronto’s top unit, but he could easily slot in on the second unit hopefully making it just as threatening for Toronto. Now I’m sure fans went and investigated Giordano’s offensive numbers and are likely thinking 23 points in 55 game and just 6 goals might not be worth trading for because they see the -21 attached to his stat line. To those fans, look at the bigger picture. The Seattle Kraken don’t score many goals at all in games and spend too much time pulling the puck out of their own net because both goalies are simply terrible and when looking at a Defenseman you usually focus on how well he plays his position because defending in your own zone is more important. Another positive for Toronto is the instant chemistry that the reuniting teammates Giordano and TJ Brodie will have because the season Mark won the Norris Trophy he was paired with Brodie in Calgary and that duo worked very well together.

Kyle also stated in the weeks leading up to the Monday that he would like to bolster the teams bottom six forward group and Colin Blackwell will be joining the Leafs where he will look to provide a spark to the Leafs third or fourth lines. He has 17 points as a member of Seattle, but it also known as a strong defensive minded forward who can play both center and wing, he also has penalty killing experience, but Colin also is another player who likes to finish his check. Toronto is a city with fans that like guys that work hard every night and play with some toughness, Zach Hyman who’s now with the Oilers was a prime example of this and this season Michael Bunting seems to have fit in very well with the Leafs in that role. Blackwell could rotate between the third and fourth line for the Leafs and likely fit in well in either spot. Alex Kerfoot and Colin Blackwell were once teammates together at the University of Harvard and Kerfoot contacted Colin right away excited that the two would be reuniting once again.

 

After making the Giordano trade Dubas made another move, with this blog when I write about the team whether its after a game, free agent signings, or trade I treat this as if I am reporting news to the readers, Though I am a fan I do my best to remain impartial and unbiased when giving my thoughts and opinions on the team. However, this trade is a personal one for me. Travis Dermott was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for a 3^rd round pick this year originally from Winnipeg. I have known Travis since his was 15 as a rookie where he played one season as a member of the Newmarket Hurricanes and honestly, he is a great kid who was well liked by his teammates. There were fans in Newmarket that thought he wasn’t going to last or wasn’t good enough to play at the Jr A level. I got laughed at when I told anyone willing to listen that Dermott would be a player to pay attention to because once he settled in and found his comfort level he would begin to find success, He would go on and help Newmarket to game 7 of the OJHL’s Buckland Cup where we unfortunately fell to a young Mitch Marner, but Dermott capped off his Jr A season winning the Player of the Year award, and award that I had the honor of presenting too him, and ended up being a runner up for the leagues Rookie of the Year before joining the Erie Otters of the OHL. After Dermott moved on, I always followed his career and in Erie he had many years with deep playoff runs and in three years as an Otter he collected 116 points.

Dermott was drafted by the Leafs in the second round by Toronto in the 2015 draft and I personally was excited because this kid had potential to be a strong piece on the Leafs defense. Dermott spent five years with the Leafs where he assisted the Marlies in winning the 2018 Calder Cup, and when finally landing a spot on the Leafs main roster his play started out positively but as time went on his play and production would drop. Each year I would see people criticize Dermott for his production and play but it’s hard to be a constantly productive player when you are in and out of the team’s lineup. When you spend most of your time practicing and then on game nights, you’re watching from the press box it’s difficult to develop and improve your game. Was Travis’s game perfect? No, I know a lot of people focus on the turnover in game 6 last year that led to the Montreal overtime win but there was plenty of upside to Travis Dermott’s game that we didn’t get to see because he wasn’t given a fair opportunity. It was reported earlier this season that Travis had asked for a change of scenery if it was possible and one thing about Kyle Dubas is that when a player isn’t getting a fair chance to perform he will find a trade with a team that will give his player a legit chance to play and develop, he did this with forward Josh Leivo who he coincidently moved to Vancouver when former coach Mike Babcock wouldn’t dress him and now he has done the same with Dermott because the coaching staff feel the likes of Rasmus Sandin, and Justin Holl had passed Travis on the teams depth chart.

So, what do the Canucks get with a player like Travis? Vancouver will get a player that can play both sides of the puck, he is a player who can break up plays in his end well and he also isn’t afraid to join the rush if the opportunity presents itself. For the fans of the Canucks you get a player that is always enthusiastic about hockey, he is someone that loves being at the rink but you will see him do plenty of work in the community, and if a fan wants a picture or an autograph he will go above and beyond to make sure that fan leaves with a smile on their face honestly the Canucks fanbase will love this kid and he will succeed playing for your squad.

 

After lunch hour the Leafs made a minor trade to free up a contract spot Toronto Marlies defenseman Alex Biega to the Nashville Predators for Future Considerations freeing up 750K. Biega appeared in just two games with the Maple Leafs but in 31 appearances with the Marlies he managed one goal and dix assists for seven points.

 

The 2pm Waiver deadline arrived, and Arizona wound up claiming Harri Sateri off Waivers from the Leafs, but Mrazek ended up clearing so the Leafs can decide on sending him to the Marlies but could also be on the market for a low valued goalie, and as expected Kyle Clifford ending up clearing Waivers and can be sent down to the Marlies.

The 3pm trade deadline would arrive and although many had speculated that Toronto was searching for a goalie, but with Mrazek clearing waivers he will likely remain with the Leafs as the backup goalie with Kallgren carrying the load and once Campbell returns possibly Saturday then Mrazek would go down to the Marlies with no Waiver interference.

 

Kyle Dubas spoke to the media after the 3pm deadline and said that he left contract spots open because there will be college players joining the Leaf roster likely in the coming weeks and it is no secret at all that Leaf draft pick Matthew Knies who is finishing up his college career with Minnesota registered 29 points in 30 games this season. It also believed that Harvard University Captain Nick Abruzzese will follow Knies in joining the Leafs from the NCAA at the start of April and in 27 games Nick had 32 points.

The prospect pipeline for the Leafs has some quality pieces making their way to the big club and Wednesday will be the start of the playoff push and it’s believed that both Giordano and Blackwell will be in the lineup debuting for their new team as the Leafs host the New Jersey Devils.

 

Thanks as always for reading.