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In this edition of the hotstove, we share our thoughts on the Tyler Toffoli trade.
Todd Cordell
I really like Tyler Toffoli. Heck, I love him.
He is somebody who will consistently help tilt the ice in his team’s favor and he’ll contribute a fair bit of offense along the way.
Toffoli is producing at a 25-goal, 48-point clip, which is honestly pretty impressive given the lack of talent to work with in LA. I have no doubt he’ll make an impact in Vancouver’s top-6, be it alongside Elias Pettersson or Bo Horvat.
All that said, I don’t *love* the trade from Vancouver’s perspective. At least not if they don’t find a way to extend Toffoli – and at a somewhat reasonable price.
Why? Even with Toffoli, and in an underwhelming Pacific Division, I don’t look at the Canucks as true contenders this season. If that’s true and they don’t go on a deep run – then lose Toffoli in a few months – giving up Tyler Madden would be awfully hard to stomach. He may not be an A+ future star but he’s a really good bet to become a solid NHL player for a long time. You don’t give those away those long-term, cost controlled assets for a couple months of a good 2nd liner; unless you are a Tampa Bay level of contender with a great chance of winning it all.
So, in short, I think LA did well getting a 2nd and a prospect of real quality for a rental in Toffoli. I also think you can argue Toffoli is worth it; I’m just not sure he is worth it for the Canucks at this point.
Sean Maloughney
This deal was good news for both teams involved and bad news for every other buyer in the league. First off, kudos to Vancouver for taking their shot. No one expected the Canucks to be a playoff team, let alone compete for the top of the division but now that they are doing it Jim Benning is doing what he can to keep the party going.
Vancouver is a fairly average team in terms of both even strength scoring as well as shots at 5 on 5 and Tyler Toffoli will help in both departments. With Brock Boesser expected to miss the next few weeks with broken ribs and Ferland sadly done for the season, Toffoli will be a welcome addition, likely next to Bo Horvat.
LA gets a bottom six forward in Tim Schaller (although he is a UFA at the end of this season) a second round pick and a fairly well thought of prospect in 20 year old college centre Tyler Madden. The Kings already have a number of young prospects in the wait and add a kid who is currently tracking for an NHL career.
As I said off the top, this deal is bad news for buyers because the market continues to be expensive. Greene gets a 2nd, Coleman, a 1st and a solid prospect, and now Toffoli for a 2nd, player, and a good prospect. The price just went up for the likes of Pageau and Kreider and that could make for an interesting deadline.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
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