Among the most active teams in the league for obvious reasons, Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello wasted no time dismantling the few veterans that remained on his roster. In what is now a full-fledged youth movement for the Leafs, there will certainly be a learning curve over the next three or so years. That being said, the main theme of the Leafs’ trades this year was “MORE PICKS! MORE PICKS!”
SALARY DUMP… AND A PICK: First, D and captain Dion Phaneuf was shipped to Ottawa in a nine-player deal that saw fringe NHL’ers and prospects Matt Frattin, Casey Bailey, Ryan Rupert, and Cody Donaghy to the Sens. In return, D Jared Cowen, F Milan Michalek (injured), F Colin Greening, and prospect Tobias Lindberg joined the Leafs. In addition, the Leafs received Ottawa’s second round pick in the 2017 NHL draft.
The motivation for this deal stems from Toronto’s total rebuild. At age 30 and with five years at an annual rate of $7 million left on his contract, it was not in the cards to keep Phaneuf wearing a Leafs’ sweater. Cowen, Michalek, and Greening all have contracts expiring next year, which frees up even more cap space for the Leafs should they decide not to resign these players.
MORE PICKS: Lamoriello sent goaltender James Reimer to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a conditional fourth round pick in the 2018 draft, goaltender Alex Stalock, and forward Ben Smith. The “condition” is that if the Sharks win the Cup this season, the fourth rounder becomes a third round pick. The Leafs also sent F Jeremy Morin to the Sharks in the same deal. Reimer, 27, is not old (especially for a goaltender), nor does he have a huge cap hit.
However, Reimer does become a free agent on July 1, and will command a significant pay raise. Nevertheless, it would be no surprise if Lamoriello and Company made an effort to re-sign him in free agency with their shiny new cap space. They’ll say they simply dealt him to bring in “more picks”—though Reimer is sure worth a hell of a lot more than a fourth rounder—a second rounder or two third rounders would have been more like it.
EVEN MORE PICKS: Speaking of “more picks”, D Roman Polak and F Nick Spaling were also dealt to San Jose for second round picks in 2017 and 2018 along with journeyman forward and tough guy Raffi Torres. Combined with the 2017 second rounder they received from the Sens in the Phaneuf trade, the Leafs will have three second-rounders in 2017 (including their own).
WAIT! MORE PICKS: Lamoriello was not quite done yet after shipping out Reimer. The night before deadline day, Daniel Winnik was moved to the Washington Capitals along with the Leafs’ 2016 5th round pick (from Anaheim). In exchange, the Caps gave up a second-round pick in the 2016 draft, F Brooks Laich and D Connor Carrick to come to the Leafs. Laich’s cap hit of 4.5 million a season has become the highest on the Leafs roster. Alhough this is a gross amount of salary for such an underperforming player, Laich (32) will only be on Leafs’ payroll until the end of the 2016-2017 season, after which he will become an unrestricted free agent.
Also interesting to note is that this is the second time Dan Winnik has been dealt by the Leafs at the deadline. Last year, he was sent to Pittsburgh as a rental and then resigned with the Leafs as free agent before this season started.
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