The Toronto Maple Leafs once again traded for Ilya Lubushkin last night, this time for a 3rd and a 6th.
It is a trade so irational, misguided and idiotic that I don’t know where to start. Brad Treliving is completely out of his depth as the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs and his tenure has been nothing short of a disaster to date
With $20 million to spend in the off-season, he made David Kampf the NHL’s highest paid 4th liner, and embarassed the franchise by giving Ryan Reaves a three-year deal. John Klinbger was unplayable from day one and Max Domi has fit in like a Radiohead song at a UFC event.
What he did not do is address the blue-line and he entered one of the few remaining Prime Seasons of the Core 4 with one of the league’s worst blue-lines.
I wasn’t keen on trading for Chris Tanev because I think the Leafs need puck-movers more than defensive players. However, Chris Tanev is a no-doubt top-four player on any team in the NHL.
Ilya Lyubushkin is a healthy scratch on at least 10 teams in the NHL.
The odds of finding a star player in the late first round aren’t that much better than finding one in the third round. The difference between Lyubushkin and Tanev is far, far greater. If you are willing to spend a third on Lyubushkin, just pay the cost for Tanev and be done with it.
Lyubushkin doesn’t make any sense on a team that already has Simon Benoit, William Lagesson, and Mark Giordano. There is no realistic difference in what results those four players will give you
