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After a horrible start to the season in October, the Toronto Maple Leafs seem to have turned it around during November. They’ve managed to string together a number of wins and the team’s performance has visibly improved during that time. These few wins have caused optimistic fans to wonder: what should the Leafs do at the Trade Deadline if they can make the 2015-16 NHL playoffs?
The answer to that is to stick to the plan that Toronto’s management has put in place, which is to trade assets for prospects and draft picks in order to build a winning team. Some people might mistake what management means when they talk about building Toronto into a winning team. What it means is to build a team that can not only make the playoffs consistently, but also go deep into the playoffs with a shot at the Stanley Cup on a yearly basis.
Even if the Leafs were the top team in the league at the Trade Deadline, they would still be trading players for prospects and draft picks. The last ten games have clouded the judgement of fans, but this team isn’t good regardless of how well they have been playing. If you take an objective look at the Leafs forwards, you’ll see that it’s mostly comprised of third and fourth liners and the Leafs best forwards are at best second liners on any other team.
What the Leafs are missing is pure elite talent along the lines of Steven Stamkos, Alex Ovechkin or Jamie Benn. And in this salary cap era of hockey the best way to get a player like that is through the draft, since most teams hold onto those types of players and never let them go. The Leafs need that calibre of player. The best way to get a player like that is through drafting and development in the minors.
Right now the Leafs best player with the potential to become an elite NHL player is William Nylander, but he needs the time in the AHL to develop properly into the player Toronto needs. They can’t risk rushing his development just so that he can play on the Leafs right now. Building a winning team from the ground up is something that takes time and patience, which is something that must also be applied to the development of prospects.
If the Leafs start winning more games and get within reach of the playoffs, all it means is that they’ll get more in return from trades. If Tyler Bozak can continue to play well and lead the team in points, all it means is that Bozak will garner much more trade interest from other teams. The same can be said for Joffrey Lupul and Dion Phaneuf. If they can play well and have a good season then their contracts might not be as much of a deterrent for other teams as it was previously.
The Toronto Maple Leafs need a winning team this season so that their players can seem more appealing to other teams in a trade, which will result in the Leafs getting much more in return than they probably should. But at the Trade Deadline every team that is in playoff contention will overpay in a trade just to get that last piece to their team to ensure that they will have success in the playoffs.
Toronto Maple Leafs management promised that this would be a year of pain for the rebuild and I couldn’t think of anything more painful than trading players when there is a chance to make the playoffs.
Fans just need to remember the goal isn’t to make the playoffs, it’s to win the Stanley Cup.
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