As most of you have already been informed, the Toronto Maple Leafs have traded veteran defenseman JM Liles to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for veteran defenseman Tim Gleason.
Having roughly the same contracts and also having difficulty making each respective team, both defensemen needed a change of scenery which Leafs’ GM Dave Nonis realized long ago. With the number of “mobile… or “offensive… defensemen currently on the Leafs roster, Liles really had no place as he struggled to out play guys like Morgan Rielly and or Jake Gardiner.
That said, Liles is still very much a solid defender and has a the ability to skate and move the puck very well on a team who is in need of his type of play – something I mentioned the Leafs simply had an abundance of. Conversely, where the Leafs have really needed help has been in terms of acquiring a true shutdown defender such as Tim Gleason.
Known to play a physical game and not very offensive, Gleason should help bolster the Leafs backend when it comes to clearing the front of the net and punishing the opposition in their own end, where guys like Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner have struggled. Simply put, the Leafs have improved their defensive strength while not giving up anything which they needed.
In addition to moving Liles, the Leafs gave up defensive prospect Dennis Robertson who has been playing in the college ranks. Robertson wasn’t exactly high on the Leafs defensive prospect rankings and was likely to be a few years removed from the NHL, thus allowing Nonis to let him go at this point in time. The 2011 6th round pick is slated to play out his season in the NCAA this year and will look to turn pro shortly after. In my humble opinion, no big loss here for the Leafs and no big acquisition for the Canes, either.
All things considered, I like this deal for both teams, however I think the Leafs came ahead in this deal in terms of need. Gleason will be a stronger option for the Leafs in comparison to a player like Mark Fraser, but also brings a ton of extra experience and leadership to the room - something that has lacked in many games played thus far.
With the big win today for the Winter Classic game, in addition to this deal, it was a good day for Leafs Nation and I feel that their overall team strength has improved ever so slightly.
That’s all for this week, thanks for reading!