|
From Keith to Carter: The Aulie-Ashton Trade |
|
|
|
|
|
There's no real need to mention it a whole heck of a lot anymore. Toronto traded Keith Aulie to Tampa Bay, in need of some real defensemen, for the former 29th Overall Pick in 2009 - Carter Ashton. I've had multiple people ask me to go into some depth on my thoughts on it.
So.... here we go...
Keith Aulie is big. At close to six-foot-six, he's a giant on skates. Heck, he's been described lovingly by Leaf fans as a "Wookie-On-Skates". Keith Aulie is also mean. One of the few Leaf defenders who would consistently finish every check and really make forwards pay the price down low and around the net, he's what teams want in a crease-clearing defender. With a large wingspan, Aulie has the ability to limit what players can do around him, and he's also a mobile guy for his size.
Beyond that, Aulie is a character individual. I'm sure many have heard the story where he saved his father back on the farm from certain death. The story came out around the time that Keith was standing on the opposite side of Tyler Myers for Canada at the World Juniors.
For all intents and purposes, Keith Aulie is a guy with the upside to play in a 4 slot on an NHL blueline, and be counted on to play hard minutes on the PK shutting the opposition down.
Enter Carter Ashton. Another big boy at six-foot-three and 215 lbs, Ashton brings much needed size to the Leafs depth chart. Beyond his size, the son of former NHL'er, Brent Ashton, is a gifted skater. He's very mature defensively and used well in a PK'ing role wherever he's gone. He brings a natural NHL shot, to an offensive arsenal. Using his size, he scores most of his goals around the net, and can also use that same size to hit hard. He's got some mean tendencies to his game, and will occasionally drop the gloves. He's a "power forward", to simplify his game in words.
As far as upside is concerned, look for Ashton to settle in as a third line power winger with PK abilities and some secondary scoring. If, and I stress if, the offense pans out, then the Leafs have added a big bodied second line type.
Ashton brings in flexibility as well. Keith Aulie's waiver eligibility was coming to an end, and with Ashton the Leafs fill a need in their depth chart while gaining more waiver time to evaluate his talent.
Tampa adds a steadying big body to the back end as they struggle with allowing pucks into the back of their net.
All in all, nothing worth complaining about from either team, as far as I'm concerned. We'll call it... a good hockey deal.
Join the Discussion:
»