Maple Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas has been busy over the past couple of weeks. Surrounding the draft and free agency day, the peak of the offseason boasted a complete transformation of the Toronto Maple Leafs roster. Jumpstarted by offloading Patrick Marleau’s contract, the frenzy of acquisitions and movements only escalated from there. So here’s my evaluation of every major transaction since then:
Trade: Patrick Marleau
Leafs acquire 2020 sixth round pick in exchange for Patrick Marleau ($6.25M AAV), a conditional 2020 first round pick, and a 2020 seventh round pick
The bombshell that started it all, this move was absolutely integral to getting the offseason going. Marleau did the Leafs a favor by waiving his NMC so they could dump his contract. Carolina easily took the first round pick in exchange for buying Marleau out, but Kyle Dubas still managed to make it lottery-proof. The Leafs are shooting for present success, so the elbow room in cap space for the RFAs is a lot more valuable than a future pick.
Grade: A
Signing: Andreas Johnsson & Kasperi Kapanen
Kapanen signed at $3.2M x 3 years and Andreas Johnson signed at $3.4M x 4 years
Signed at the same time, Johnsson and Kapanen have similar contracts essentially paid for by the Marleau offload. With both wingers coming off breakout seasons, their contracts are pretty good deals. Getting these guys signed before the Marner contract was a turning point in RFA negotiations. I interpret it as management taking control again in a power move.
Grade: B
Signing: Mike Hutchinson & Marty Marincin
Both signed at $700k x 1 year
These guys will mostly play in the AHL in the coming season. At league minimum, their signings aren’t that notable in the big picture. It does, however, give the Maple Leafs options for call-ups if needed.
Grade: B
Hiring: Dave Hakstol
Hired as Assistant Coach
I am not a fan of Dave Hakstol and have never been a fan of Dave Hakstol, so I am admittedly a little annoyed with this hiring. Hakstol was fired from his position as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers back in December. His team was in crisis and it was perhaps a necessary change for the Flyers. For the Leafs, Hakstol will fill former assistant coach DJ Smith’s role as defensive coach and will work with the penalty kill. This especially concerns me because Philadelphia had one of the worst penalty kills in the league. I just don’t see Hakstol as the right fit in the context of the Maple Leafs’ new school direction. While he might be an upgrade from DJ Smith, his reputation is still concerning.
Grade: D
Trade: Cody Ceci – Nikita Zaitsev
Leafs acquire Cody Ceci, Ben Harpur, Aaron Luchuk, and a 2020 third round pick in exchange for Nikita Zaitsev, Connor Brown, and Michael Carcone
Look, any trade that offloads Zaitsev’s awful contract is undoubtedly a win. The key components in this massive trade were Nikita Zaitsev and Connor Brown for Cody Ceci. Brown was expected to go as trade bait so it’s unsurprising to see him as sweetener for Zaitsev. Moving Zaitsev seemed like an impossible task, so most of the kudos stems here. On the flip, Ceci is a little concerning. The defenseman struggled while playing for Ottawa. He is, however, unarguably an upgrade from Zaitsev and could potentially become lucrative trade bait in the future.
Grade: B
Signing: Jason Spezza
Signed at $700k x 1 year
Although Jason Spezza isn’t what he was in his prime, he’s still a solid, hardy player. Signed at league minimum, his acquisition is extremely low risk. Expected to fill 4C, his presence and reputation in the bottom six is pretty good compared to other 4Cs around the league.
Grade: B
Trade: Tyson Barrie – Nazem Kadri
Leafs acquire Tyson Barrie, Alexander Kerfoot, and a 2020 sixth round pick in exchange for Nazem Kadri, Calle Rosen, and a 2020 third round pick
Strategically, this is an amazing trade for the Maple Leafs. Barrie and Kerfoot are strong players that fill the largest holes in the Leafs roster. Barrie especially is a much needed RHD that is one of the top puck-movers in the league. Many were upset when the Leafs lost the Colin Miller sweepstakes, but Tyson Barrie is a much better acquisition than Miller. I imagine he’ll be paired with Jake Muzzin with Morgan Rielly on the other top pair. This opens up the possibility of two alternating defensive pairs that pack the same kind of puck moving power.
Kerfoot will fill the role of 3C, swapped in from Nazem Kadri. It would not have made sense for the Leafs to move Kadri without finding a solid center that could fill his role at the same level of compete. Kerfoot was a necessary acquisition in order to deal Kadri.
Calle Rosen was always a movable asset, but giving up Nazem Kadri is the biggest, toughest part of this trade. Good assets have to be given up in order to get a good return. Kadri just happened to be the sacrifice. For the past ten years, Kadri has been an integral part of the core and an absolute key piece in the Leafs rebuild. This team would not be what it is today without his contributions. He’s a great player, but ultimately it meant he had to be used as leverage.
Grade: A
Signing: Cody Ceci & Alexander Kerfoot
Alexander Kerfoot signed at $3.5M x 4 years and Cody Ceci signed at $4.5M x 1 year
Ceci and Kerfoot have the same agent, so these signings were likely negotiated and subsequently announced at the same time. Kerfoot at $3.5M for that long of a term is quite a steal for the Leafs. It’s under his projected value and he’ll have the versatility to move up and down the lineup. It’s a good deal.
Ceci, on the other hand, is a little weighty for what he’s worth. Albeit, his expensive contract is only for one year and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dubas still try to flip him before February. However, the main takeaway from this contract is not actually about Ceci. This pretty much kills all the lingering rumors of free agent Jake Gardiner returning to the Leafs on a discounted contract. The Leafs will let Gardiner go and continue with Ceci on short term for the time being.
Grade: C
Conclusion
Personally, I’m content with the Leafs’ recent transactions. The roster headed into the fall is a lot more well-rounded than the previous roster. Especially when considering the weightiness of this offseason’s RFA contracts, Kyle Dubas managed to not only make it work, but maximize it. The only thing left to do now is sign Mitch Marner, and everything has been set into place in order to make it work. The improved Leafs roster should be exciting to watch come October.
Follow Jacqueline on Twitter at @jxcquelineoh for more.
