Maple Leafs’ Latest Big Trade Gives Toronto No More Excuses To Lose In Playoffs

The Toronto Maple Leafs continued their pre-trade-deadline makeover Monday, with a deal with Chicago that made veteran defenseman Jake McCabe and forward Sam Lafferty into Leafs, and sent minor-leaguers Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev into Blackhawks property. The Buds also sent a conditional first-round draft pick (top-10-protected) in 2025 and a 2026 second-rounder to the Hawks, who sent their conditional fifth-rounder in 2024 and a conditional fifth-rounder in 2025 to Toronto as part of the deal.

In less than two weeks, Toronto GM Kyle Dubas pushed in virtually all of his chips – including most of his salary cap space – to give the Leafs as deep a roster as they’ve had in the salary cap era. But you shouldn’t automatically believe the Buds are done dealing. As per CapFriendly.com, the Leafs still have more than $2.77 million in cap space to use by the deadline, and they also now have some forward and defense assets to package in another trade that could open up a significant amount of additional cap space.

For instance, the arrival of the 27-year-old Lafferty gives the Leafs a cap-positive piece who is also under contract (at the very reasonable rate of $1.15 million per season) through the 2023-24 campaign. And the 29-year-old McCabe is under contract for two more seasons after the current season, at a cap hit of just $ 2 million per year (the Hawks are retaining half of his $ 4 million salary). Lafferty is, in essence, a longer-term solution for a bottom-six forward role with Toronto, who will be moving on from veteran forward Alex Kerfoot and his $3.5 million cap hit when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Similarly, McCabe now fits into the Leafs’ longer-term plans, and his salary, combined with early-season acquisition Connor Timmins, gives Toronto two defenders at a total cost of $3.1 million next season. That’s a smart price to pay when you consider that the Leafs will be bidding veteran Justin Holl goodbye when he’s a UFA this summer. Dubas has locked up his top-seven blueliners to a total cap hit of $19.2 million, a very reasonable number for a Stanley Cup contender. And, as is the case with Kerfoot, Holl may be traded by the deadline in exchange for a player who can help out both now and next season.

Around Full Press Hockey

NHL: Four Crucial Areas For Maple Leafs The Rest Of This Regular Season

NHL Rumors: NHL Rumors: New Jersey Devils Trade Targets

NHL: NHL All Star Game Thoughts and Possible Changes

NFL: What Eddie Robinson Told Doug Williams After He Made History 35 Years Ago

Full Press Bets: Early 2022 NFL MVP Odds: Bills’ Josh Allen Favored

PODCAST: Full Press Hockey Weekly Ep 45: Canucks, Islanders, and The Boston Bruins

The competition among the Leafs’ bottom-six forwards and bottom-two defensemen is significantly improved, and Toronto needs as much depth as it can get if only to provide injury insurance for the rest of the regular season and playoffs. Dubas has made a slew of trades this year without taking anyone off the NHL roster, which is a feat in and of itself in the modern NHL. We’ve said before that the Leafs could use some goalie depth, and that’s where Toronto’s remaining cap space comes in. But if Dubas and Leafs brass feel comfortable with starter Ilya Samsonov, veteran Matt Murray, and youngster Joseph Woll in net, they can continue to add more forwards.

It’s all about options for teams at this time of year, and Dubas has given his coach, Sheldon Keefe, even more options than they already had two weeks ago. McCabe and Lafferty aren’t going to be all-stars in Toronto, but they don’t have to be. They just need to give the Leafs solid minutes away from the puck, and chip in whatever offense they can.

But Leafs fans have every right to be thrilled with what they’ve seen from Leafs management this year. Winning playoff rounds won’t be easy, but Toronto now has no excuses to falter in Round One. There’s more than enough talent in Blue and White to get the job done.