Joined: Jul. 2018
Posts: 349
Likes: 246
This is a good trade for the Leafs, not sure if Chicago can really be disappointed, but given the fact that both players have term, and there is retention on 2 more years of McCabe, I say the Leafs win the deal.
McCabe is the jewel here for Toronto. I am not completely convinced they needed to spend their remaining assets on D, but I do think this was the best target available for the price, and getting him for 2 years past this one at $2M gives the Leafs a bottom 4 group that rivals any in the NHL, all signed next year at a total cap hit of $5.7M. That's exceptional value.
I think the Leafs strategy seems to be compile a massive list of useful depth options so Keefe can construct a large variety of different looks. The Leafs are probably the best equipped team in the NHL to handle injuries. They have constantly juggled their lines, they don't rely on any one offensive duo or player to drive the bus, pretty much every member of the top 6 has spent some time with every other player, and they can probably construct the strongest 5th forward group and 4th D pair in the NHL. Whether or not it's the best strategy remains to be seen, but it sure seems like Dubas is betting that as long as Keefe has pretty much every type of option available to him, he can construct lines that will have success in their role against just about any opponent.
The Leafs have now spent as much to acquire McCabe, O'Reilly, Acciari, and Lafferty as New Jersey spent on Meier. It remains to be seen if the collection of players will be more impactful (personally I would rather have Meier), but the Leafs are definitely as deep as they have ever been, and I don't think there is another team as well equipped to handle the injuries that typically go along with a deep playoff run. The team has been relatively healthy this year, and probably has the biggest list of NHL calibre talent ready to go in the event of injury, or even just to come in and shake things up if things aren't clicking.
The Atlantic is going to be a gauntlet, but I think the Leafs trades represent more of an upgrade (in total) than what Boston or Tampa has been able to do so far. I don't know if it's enough, but they are definitely going for it, and I do think they have done a good job keeping that window open for the next 4-5 years by holding onto their young players and near NHL ready prospects throughout. It seems like Dubas understands the window isn't one and done, but it's also not extending for 5 or more years down the road either.