Breaking news: Maple Leafs acquire a Ducks player in late night trade
It's the worst kept secret in the NHL but the Toronto Maple Leafs defence core is one of the weakest it's seen in the last 20 years. Throughout this entire season it's been the focal point of all discussions from Leafs fans, pandan's another NHL execs who feel this is the area they lack the most.
Tonight, after winning 4-2 against the Arizona Coyotes the Maple Leafs made a late-night trade with the Anaheim Ducks. The Leafs re-acquired right hand shot defenseman Ilya Lybushkin for a third-round pick.
As the new trend in the NHL continues, the Maple Leafs reached out to the Carolina Hurricanes who helped broker the deal by shouldering 25% of the salary retention with Anaheim eating 50%. The Hurricanes ended up getting a sixth-round pick from the Maple Leafs for helping with this.
He played 31 games in 2021-2022 for the Maple Leafs after former general manager Kyle Dubas acquired him. His playoff style along with his right-handed shot will help the Leafs as they're desperate on that side and considerably weak. He also has a toughness and physicality to his game which is what the Leafs are also looking for.
Doing this move, will also help TJ Brodie who has seen recent success as he was placed back on his strong side. As the Leafs continue to find balance in their blue line it's expected that more moves will come as the team needs at least one more playoff style defenseman to help balance the load.
| POLL | ||
29 FEVRIER | 156 ANSWERS Breaking news: Maple Leafs acquire a Ducks player in late night trade Will Lybushkin be a good pickup for the Leafs? | ||
| Yes | 76 | 48.7 % |
| No | 80 | 51.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
