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Morning Skate: The Maple Leafs are coming for all of your draft picks
Surrender now.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Lace ‘em up. Time for the Morning Skate.
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THE LEAFS ARE STOCKPILING
The Great UFA Exodus of 2016 marches on in Toronto. Everyone knew pending unrestricted free agent Roman Polak would be traded before the trade deadline on Feb. 29. It was just a matter of when.
Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello pulled the trigger while you were on the way to work on Monday morning, sending Polak and Nick Spaling to the San Jose Sharks for second-round round draft picks in 2017 and 2018 and the minor league contract of Raffi Torres. That means the Leafs have 27 (!) draft picks over the next three years, including 12 in this year’s draft.
That’s an incredible amount of potential future talent for a team already loaded with blue-chippers like Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Kasperi Kapanen. If done right, Toronto could go from aimless bottom feeders to playoff contenders faster than anyone expected two years ago.
If done wrong, they’ll end up like the Edmonton Oilers.
BUT WHO WON?
- Certainly not the Sharks. Fear The Fin explains how GM Doug Wilson overpaid for a couple of depth upgrades in Polak and Spaling.
- Leafs fans are far more upbeat about the trade, as they should be.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT:
- Columbus ran straight through a Bruins team that desperately needed a win at home.
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s return wasn’t enough to save the Coyotes in Washington yesterday.
- Nashville prevailed in the most bizarre game of the night.
- Meanwhile, the Canadiens continue to look incapable of any sort of creativity on offense.
TRADE RUMORS
- Friendly reminder: You can keep track of every important rumor here.
- The Anaheim Ducks are peaking. Does that mean they don’t need to trade for an upgrade at the deadline?
- Mark Streit is apparently on the trade market, but the Flyers are having a hard time trying to move him.
- Whatever the Jets demand in return for Andrew Ladd should set the market for a Loui Eriksson trade from Boston.
- It sounds like the Nashville Predators are interested in the Habs’ Dale Weise.
- You can all calm down now: Montreal’s GM confirmed he’s not trading P.K. Subban.
- P.A. Parenteau could be a good fit for the Blackhawks.
NEWS & NOTES
- The rebuilds in Edmonton and Toronto have a lot of similarities.
- Here’s one Blue Jackets fan’s wish list for the rest of the season.
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