Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Will The Leafs Go Shopping And Swapping At The Draft??

April 19, 2016, 8:13 PM ET [669 Comments]
Mike Augello
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Toronto Maple Leafs reversed on organizational trend by making a concerted effort to accumulate draft picks in the last 12 months. The club added an extra 2016 first and third rounder in the Phil Kessel trade, Washington’s second rounder in the deal for Brooks Laich, an extra fourth for free agent forward Shawn Matthias and a sixth from the Olli Jokinen trade last March.

The question with the 2016 NHL Draft more than two months away is whether Toronto will keep their dozen draft choices or use some of them to either trade up for a higher pick or for veterans who can help the club more immediately.

The odds are slim that the Leafs will entertain any overtures of moving of their own pick once the NHL Draft Lottery determines whether they select 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th overall, but later in the first round and on the second day in Buffalo, many options will be open to them.

Where Pittsburgh’s first round pick will end up depends on how far the Penguins advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Toronto could potentially use additional picks to move up in the first round if they have targeted a specific player, which would be the exact opposite of what they did at the 2015 NHL Draft in Sunrise, FL, when they traded down and out of the first round for a pair of additional picks.

One of the few negatives of having so many picks is that the Leafs will be challenged to get that many players inked to entry-level deals. Prospects drafted from the CHL have to be signed within two years, while European prospects or US College products can remain unsigned up to four years.

GM Lou Lamoriello may see an opportunity to acquire established players from other clubs in cap difficulty, with the Leafs having a large amount of cap space following the trade of Kessel and dealing the big-dollar contract of Dion Phaneuf to Ottawa.

At the draft in Florida, Columbus dealt draft choices and prospects for RFA forward Brandon Saad from Chicago, while Calgary and New Jersey swapped picks to Boston and Anaheim for defenseman Dougie Hamilton and forward Kyle Palmieri.

Restricted free agents such as Colorado’s Tyson Barrie, Anaheim goalie Fredrik Andersen, defenseman Sami Vatanen or Blues blueliner Kevin Shattenkirk(UFA after next season) could be targets for Toronto to address their areas of need.

Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe floated the possibility of the Leafs and New York Rangers doing business, as GM Jeff Gorton has few draft picks after deals for pending UFA’s Eric Staal and Keith Yandle.

Gorton is in cap jail even with Staal and Yandle’s contracts off the books, as RFA’s Chris Kreider, JT Miller and Kevin Hayes need new deals. The Leafs are unlikely to take the aging Dan Girardi (signed for another four years at $5.5 million per season) or GTA native Rick Nash (under contract for two more seasons at $7.8 Million) off the Rangers hands, but could have interest in Kreider, Miller or Hayes if New York cannot get them signed.

*******

Listen to the latest edition of “The Convo” with myself and Norman James of CTV London:



Note : Continue to check back to my column on Hockeybuzz throughout the day for the latest Leafs updates or on Twitter

*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.*******

KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Maple Leafs Buzz, which includes a free-of-charge 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month afterwards. For more information click here.
Join the Discussion: » 669 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Mike Augello
» Leafs Frustrated And Immature In Loss To Devils
» Practicing Load Management Down The Stretch; Leafs vs. Devils
» Woll Wonderful In Loss To Canes; Keefe Downplaying Samsonov Injury
» Podcast Sunday – Off The Post Radio
» Hyman Aiming For 50; Leafs vs. Oilers