Note : It will be a 24/7 hockey news cycle until next Monday, so continue to check back to my column on Hockeybuzz throughout the day for the latest Leafs updates or on Twitter
UPDATE: 6:55pm - GM Dave Nonis pulls off a stunning deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets, swapping the thought to be immovable contract of winger David Clarkson for Nathan Horton.
The 29-year-old Horton has been injured all season with a back injury and reports throughout the year have indicated that the Stanley Cup winner's career may be over with. Both sides in the deal signed seven year free agent deals in the summer of 2013 for nearly the same dollar figure, but Horton's $37.1 Million deal was not injured and the Blue Jackets would have been on the hook for the full value of the contract for the next five years.
Clarkson's contract was essentially buyout proof, because most of his $5.25 Million salary was categorized as signing bonus, which could not be deferred in a buyout over more seasons.
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UPDATE: 4:45pm - The Maple Leafs have reacquired defenseman TJ Brennan from the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Spencer Abbott.
The 25-year-old blueliner has collected 9 goals, 27 assists in 54 games for Chicago's AHL affiliate in Rockford after leading the Toronto Marlies with 25 goals and 47 assists last season and winning the Eddie Shore Award for the best defenseman.
This is a deal aimed at getting the Marlies into the AHL playoffs, as they have struggled to generate any offense from their blueline and have been inconsistent on the power play.
The 26-year-old Abbott was second on the Leafs AHL affiliate behind Brennan last season and had seven goals and 17 assists in 46 games this season, but Toronto could afford to move the Hamilton, ON native with the recent additions of William Nylander and Brendan Leipsic.
Brennan has been assigned to the Marlies and could play in their next game in Rochester on Friday.
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As with the trade of Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli to Nashville two weeks ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs proactively moved winger Daniel Winnik well in advance of the March 2nd trade deadline, sending the 29-year-old pending free agent to the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Zach Sill, Pittsburgh's 4th round pick in 2015 and 2nd round pick in 2016.
The Maple Leafs received their asking price for the veteran forward by taking back the 26-year-old Sill’s $550,000 expiring contract and agreeing to retain half of Winnik’s $1.3 Million salary, giving the Penguins a valuable depth forward for just $100,000 in additional cap space.
Winnipeg and New York were rumored to have interest in Winnik, but the Jets opted to trade for former Leafs first rounder Jiri Tlusty(who played for head coach Paul Maurice in Toronto and Carolina) and the Rangers likely did not want to move one of their pair of 2015 2nd round picks, as they were already without their first rounder from last year’s deal with Tampa for Martin St. Louis.
“Pittsburgh was coming pretty hard for the last 10 days or so, pushing to try to get the deal done for Daniel.” GM Dave Nonis said in a Wednesday conference call. “It was our feeling that the offer that they were presenting was very fair and we felt it was what it was going to be on Monday.”
Toronto did an effective job of obtaining future assets for their three expiring contracts and clearing the expected moves out of the way to devote the last four days before the Monday deadline to work on more complex deals involving players with higher salaries and term remaining.
Franson, Santorelli and Winnik were converted into two 2015 draft choices (first round and fourth round), a 2016 second round pick and prospect Brendan Leipsic. Veterans David Booth, Olli Jokinen, Trevor Smith and Korbinian Holzer could be moved to clubs looking for depth before Monday, but those transactions would be minor and not entail a great deal of time to consummate.
“We’ll continue to talk to teams about all the players that we have remaining, including the guys that are playing with the Marlies or on our reserve list.” Nonis said. “It’s not like business is done, will we be active on deadline day…..I still think there is a chance that we do make some other moves.”
It is unlikely that the Leafs will be able to pull off a mega deal involving Phil Kessel or team captain Dion Phaneuf, who returns to the lineup on Thursday against Philadelphia after missing over a month with a hand injury, but the early trades of Tlusty, Winnik, Santorelli, Sean Bergenheim, Franson and Andrej Sekera(traded to the LA Kings for a conditional 1st round pick and prospect) increases the possibility that deals for the likes of Joffrey Lupul, Tyler Bozak and/or Roman Polak could happen.
Forwards Antoine Vermette, Curtis Glencross, Jaromir Jagr and defenseman Zbenyk Michalek are at the top of a shrinking list of rent-a-players.
Sportsnet's Roger Millions reported on Tuesday of talks between the Leafs and Calgary about a possible deal and the Flames have a significant amount of available cap space to add players if they wish to take a shot at the post-season, but those plans could be on hold depending upon the status of Norris candidate Mark Giordano, who left Calgary’s 3-1 win over New Jersey on Wednesday with a undisclosed injury.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported that the Rangers are still in the market for a forward and may be interested in Bozak, who has three years left at $4.2 Million per season.
New York adding a significant salary would necessitate them moving out another player with a big cap hit. The Rangers may have a difficult time re-signing winger Mats Zuccarello, who is reportedly looking for more than $5 Million per season. GM Glen Sather might be willing to move Zuccarello as he did former team captain Ryan Callahan for St. Louis before last year’s deadline, who had another year left on his deal.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated in his weekly
30 Thoughts column that Polak might be a fit for the Tampa Bay Lightning, whose weakness on the blueline could be the only thing that prevents them from representing the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Lightning added Jason Garrison and Anton Stralman last summer, but have lost Victor Hedman and Matt Carle for sizable chunks this season and will likely not get tough blueliner Radko Gudas back until deep into the postseason.
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