Leafs strike out in pre-draft trade talks
CHICAGO— As Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello looks to build on last season’s success starting with Friday night’s NHL draft, he admits he tried to make a deal with the Vegas Golden Knights prior to Wednesday’s expansion draft.
“All 30 teams did something, or tried to do something,” said Lamoriello. “If not, you wouldn’t be doing your job.”
The Knights took top prospect Brendan Leipsic off Toronto’s roster amid speculation Lamoriello was trying to find a way to trade Joffrey Lupul and his $5.25million cap hit to the expansion team as a means to alleviate the Leafs’ salary-cap crunch.
Lupul was the only player eligible for the expansion draft who missed all of last season because of injury, a decision approved by the league. Even with the NHL essentially saying Lupul was healthy enough for selection, though, Lupul would not appear to be in the Leafs’ plans.
“Joffrey had his exit physical and did not pass his exit physical,” said Lamoriello. “He will continue to do rehab. That list had nothing to do with anybody who was on long-term injuries. The league made the decision.”
Barring a trade, the Leafs will pick 17th on Friday night at the United Center and will get a player a year or two away from joining the roster.
“Drafts are all the same. You still try to get the best player available,” said Lamoriello. “There are good players available. It’s our job to get the right ones.”
More pertinent are holes that need addressing, starting with defence. The Leafs had been linked to trade talk involving Sami Vatanen of the Anaheim Ducks and Colin Miller, plucked off the Bruins roster by the Golden Knights.
There’s also the possibility that unrestricted free-agent Matt Hunwick will return.
“If we can improve our defence, it’s something we’re certainly going to do. It’s obvious we’d like to get somebody to make us better, but we’d be happy with the people we have. We’d like to get better everywhere.”
In other Leafs news, the team released its schedule. The highlights:
They will open the season in Winnipeg on Oct. 4.
Their home opener is Oct. 7 against the New York Rangers on Oct. 7.
They will host Carolina at 2 p.m. on Dec. 19, a Tuesday, to commemorate their own 100th anniversary.
The Golden Knights visit the ACC for the first time on Nov. 6, with the Leafs visiting Vegas on New Year’s Eve.
Toronto will play Washington outdoors at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. on March 3.
The Leafs’ season ends at home April 7 against Montreal.
The Leafs have won their two previous outdoor games ? the 2014 Winter Classic in Ann Arbor, Mich., and 2017 Centennial Classic in Toronto ? both of them against the Detroit Red Wings.
In addition, the club will play eight pre-season games in total, with three of their four home dates at Ricoh Coliseum, home of the AHL’s Marlies, due to arena availability conflicts at the Air Canada Centre. The pre- season schedule includes home-andhome series with four Atlantic Division rivals: the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens and Red Wings.