Being a top-5 team who hasn’t won a playoff series since 2004, the 2023 trade deadline garnered some extra pressure for the Leafs’ front office. Approaching the deadline, the Leafs had the 4th best record in the league, 38-16-8, behind just the Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils.
Leafs fans will be the first to tell you, they weren’t confident with the squad they had seen continuously blow decisive games and series’. Enter Kyle Dubas, with his job on the line. The Leafs’ General Manager was as busy as ever, securing 7 trades in a 2-week period leading up to the March 3rd deadline, including some exciting new names and a familiar face being welcomed into the locker room.
February 17th, 2023
Ryan O’Reilly & Josh Pillar from Minnesota for a 2025 4th-Round Pick
Dubas kicked off trade season with a bang, securing former St. Louis Blues’ Stanley Cup-winning captain, Ryan O’Reilly and 21-year-old centre Josh Pillar from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a 2025 4th round pick.
Immediately Leafs fans exploded with excitement, knowing the Buds were officially all-in. Ryan O’Reilly had just become far and away the best 3rd-line centre in the NHL, joining a ridiculously talented tandem of Auston Matthews and John Tavares.
Noel Acciari from St. Louis for Mikhail Abramov, Adam Gaudette, 2023 1st Round Pick, 2023 3rd Round Pick, & 2024 2nd Round Pick
Clearly Dubas wasn’t done securing depth for the centre position, seeing as he turned around a completed a second trade for Noel Acciari almost immediately after finishing up the O’Reilly deal.
At first glance it seems a large package for what would ultimately be a 4th liner in Toronto, yet Gaudette and Abramov both offered little promise or upside and certainly didn’t supply anything substantial for this year’s potential cup run, whereas Acciari can solidify himself on that 4th line, whether it be in the centre or not (probably not).
February 18th-25th, 2023
Roster Shuffling Week
The Leafs’ front office took the week following those two major deals to reshuffle the roster, and prepare for the possibility of incoming talent as the deadline inches closer. Erik Kallgren was recalled on an emergency basis, and Pontus Holmberg was sent down to the Marlies on February 18th. Joey Anderson and Jordie Benn were both then put on waivers on the 22nd and 25th of February, respectively.
Now with a little bit of roster flexibility, and 5 days remaining before the deadline, the trade frenzy began.
February 27th, 2023
Jake McCabe, Sam Lafferty, 2024 Conditional 5th Round Pick & 2025 Conditional 5th Round Pick from Chicago for Joey Anderson, Pavel Gogolev, 2025 Conditional 1st Round Pick & 2026 2nd Round Pick
This trade speaks volumes to Dubas’ intentions of plugging holes and bolstering the active roster. Dubas managed to acquire a 1st pair defensemen, and a 3rd line forward, all while giving up 0 points, and top-10 protecting our traded 1st rounder.
February 28th, 2023
Erik Gustafsson & 2023 1st Round Pick from Washington for Rasmus Sandin
This one’s simple, replacing a somewhat unproven 22-year-old d-man with a proven 30-year-old of the same position. Erasing the question marks, and replacing them with exclamation points.
2024 3rd Round Pick from New York Islanders for Pierre Engvall
Seeing as Engvall would likely be fighting for his place on the 4th line, this move was to make roster space and reload at a different position if possible.
Luke Schenn from Vancouver for a 2023 3rd Round Pick
That spot was quickly filled by the returning blue line #2, Luke Schenn. A much needed addition to the top-6 D-pairings. Schenn is fitting in perfectly as half of the 3rd pair, coupled with a struggling Morgan Rielly.
March 3rd, 2023 (Deadline Day)
Radim Zohorna from Calgary for Dryden Hunt
Same position, same salary, (almost) same age, same contract year, less proven. Weird trade. Not sure if it will matter much.
New and Improved, Post-Deadline Lines
Forwards
Kerfoot – Matthews – Marner
Jarnkrok – Tavares – Nylander
Bunting – O’Reilly – Lafferty
Gustafsson – Kampf – Acciari
Defense
McCabe – Brodie
Giordano – Holl
Rielly – Schenn
1st Powerplay Unit
Nylander – Tavares – Marner
Reilly – Matthews
2nd Powerplay Unit
Bunting – Kerfoot – Jarnkrok
Gustafsson – O’Reilly
1st Penalty Kill Unit
Kampf – Jarnkrok
McCabe – Brodie
2nd Penalty Kill Unit
O’Reilly – Lafferty
Giordano – Holl
Goalies
Murray
Samsonov
Only time will tell if any of this will ever mean anything or not. Such a trivial existence, being a Leaf fan.
(Photo: Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)