Joined: Apr. 2017
Posts: 345
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Change of scenery trade for 2 players who were highly regarded by their franchises at one time but had been basically been given up on at this point.
After a solid rookie campaign, Nielsen had fallen out of favour amongst Marlies coaching staff. He has played just twice since October 19 and, in the organization, was no longer considered a viable prospect for the Leafs long-term.
As a Marlies watcher this trade is not surprising and, given Nielsen’s play (and lack of it), this is a better return than I could have expected. Nielsen was maligned by Marlies fans when he did play for his slow play and questionable decision making. While I haven’t seen Klimchuk play (Stockton & Toronto never play one another unfortunately), he seems like a viable AHL’er at the minimum having posted 19 goals and 40 points the past 2 seasons. I haven’t a clue if there is a next level or if this is his ceiling but anything is better than Nielsen at this point.