WendelMania

"Maple Leafs Blogger"

Leafs Make Trade

Friday afternoon, the Vegas Golden Knights and Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they made a trade. I want to call it a win-win trade, but it is more of a not lose-not lose trade. What that means is there is really no risk to either to teams. The Maple Leafs move former second round pick Oscar Lindberg and a 6th round pick for an NHL calibre goalie and still 25 year old Calvin Pickard.rnrnWhat do the Leafs get? In Pickard, they get a goalie who started for the worst team in the league last year. Pickard cracked the NHL as a full time back-up just two seasons ago and posted a 2.56 GAA and .922 save percentage in 20 games. He went to the World Championships and allowed just one goal in his two starts. 2016-17 started and he took over the reigns as the Avalanches number one goalie and everyone knows what happened in Colorado last year. When all was said and done he posted a 15-31-2 record with a 2.98 GAA and .904 save percentage. Again, Pickard was asked to come to the World Championships where he was Canada's starting goalie and had a 1.49 GAA and .938 save percentage on his way to a silver medal. Come the expansion draft, Pickard was left exposed and picked up by Vegas. rnrnIn Tobias Lindberg, the Knights get a heavy winger that was once thought to be a third liner for the Maple Leafs. But with 20-goal scorer Connor Brown not being able to make the third line-up and NHL caliber players Kasperi Kapanen and Nikita Soshnikov not even being able to make the Leafs, along with a handful of prospects already now ahead of Lindberg he became expendable. The Knights' website wrote that he played in six games for the Leafs last year, but that was two seasons ago when he was acquired in the cap dump trade with Ottawa. Lindberg is now 22 and doesn't really need anymore seasoning, Vegas offers a perfect opportunity for him to showcase his talents. The Knights are best off bringing him up and seeing if he can play third line minutes and if not cut ties and see what they can do with their sixth round pick.rnrnFor Vegas Pickard became expendable when they picked up Malcolm Subban off waivers. Lindberg no longer had any future in Toronto so it is a swap. The Knights now get a dice roll on a player and the Leafs get a legit NHL goalie to split time with Garrett Sparks and give the Marlies a legit shot and going deep with rntheir young squad.