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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter
Another day closer to the March 8 NHL trade deadline. Another right-handed defenseman who’s off the board.
The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Ilya Lyubushkin, who played part of the 2021-22 season with the club, from the Anaheim Ducks in a three-team trade that also involved the Carolina Hurricanes. The Leafs received Lyubushkin — the No. 29 player on Greg Wyshynski’s trade board — and the rights to prospect forward Kirill Slepets, with the Ducks receiving the Leafs’ 2025 third-round pick while retaining 50% of Lyubushkin’s $2.75 million salary.
As for the Hurricanes, they received the Leafs’ 2024 sixth-round pick for serving as a third-party broker that will pay 25% of Lyubushkin’s salary.
Getting Lyubushkin comes a day after the Dallas Stars were the first team to enter the right-handed defenseman market, trading for Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames as part of a three-team deal involving the New Jersey Devils.
Exactly how did the GMs perform with this trade? Check out our grades.
Getting creative with the salary cap has been part of the Leafs’ strategy over the past several years. It’s become even more of a challenge this season when it comes to strengthening the Leafs’ defense. Both John Klingberg and Conor Timmins are on injured reserve while Jake Muzzin is on long-term injured reserve after he was ruled out for the regular season and playoffs with a cervical spine issue.
Then there are the more recent developments related to the health of the Leafs’ blue line. Timothy Liljegren missed a second straight game with an undisclosed injury while Mark Giordano left the Leafs’ 4-2 win Thursday with a head injury in the first period. That led to winger Mitch Marner filing in on defense — which was an option that Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said he even thought about before puck drop.
What Leafs GM Brad Treliving accomplished was getting reinforcements in the form of a sizable right-handed shot who not only strengthens their depth but provides them a more defensive-minded option — at 25% of his salary. Cap Friendly projects the Leafs will have $2.134 million deadline cap space. It’s enough room for them to think about another move before next Friday’s deadline.
It also helps that there’s a familiarity with Lyubushkin and the Leafs. He gives them another option for a penalty kill that has struggled this season with a 77.6% success rate, which ranks 24th. His 31-game stint with the Leafs saw him finish with six points in the regular season. Lyubushkin had a rocky postseason experience, as he was seventh among Leafs defensemen in ice time, yet he was on the ice for four goals at 5-on-5 which was tied for the second most on the team, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Could the Leafs have gone after other right-handed options? Sean Walker continues to be mentioned in the right-handed defenseman market. But the Philadelphia Flyers remain in the hunt for a playoff spot, currently third in the Metropolitan Division.
Matt Dumba, Alexandre Carrier or Tyson Barrie, the latter of whom also played for the Leafs, could have been potential targets. But Dumba has a $3.9 million cap hit. Carrier is slightly lower at $2.5 million, while Barrie checks in at $4.5 million. So getting Lyubushkin at his rate was a clear win.
The Leafs were also able to get the rights to 24-year-old Slepets, who has eight goals and 19 points in 53 games for Amur Khabarovsk in the KHL.
In sum, the Leafs were able to fill a need here, and struck quickly in a right-handed defenseman market that now has one fewer name. And they did it without having to use up much cap space.
This was a solid move. But where it gets tricky for the Ducks is that they could have sought one more draft pick because of the premium they face with retention slots at this year’s trade deadline.
The Ducks have a chance to use this deadline to make one for the NHL’s most promising farm systems even stronger. Adam Henrique is the most attractive option in the second-line center market. Frank Vatrano is one of the more sought-after top-six/top-nine wingers, while Sam Carrick provides contenders seeking a bottom-six option on a team-friendly contract.
Henrique is a pending UFA with a $5.825 million cap hit while Vatrano has two years left at $3.65 million per season. Carrick is also a pending UFA, with a budget-friendly $850,00 cap hit. The expectation is the Ducks will likely have to retain salary should they trade Henrique and Vatrano. Carrick’s cap hit should hypothetically be an easier one to manage, but it’s possible that it could prove challenging depending upon a team’s specific situation.
But here’s what pushes the grade to a B for the Ducks: While they were able to get a draft pick, they could have gone after more just because of the value retention spots have for teams seeking to add more draft capital this time of year.
Then again, it might not matter considering the haul they can likely get for Henrique and Vatrano.
Being a third-party broker is emblematic of two tenets that have become hallmarks of the Don Waddell era: Gaining draft capital and having quite a bit of cap space at an opportune time.
A three-year draft cycle generally means having 21 picks — seven in each year — assuming a team does not trade those picks. The Hurricanes have had a total of 30 draft picks over the past three years. This trade now gives them 10 picks in this summer’s draft, and another chance to add more depth to their farm system. Or they’ll package some of those picks to make additions of their own.
Cap Friendly projects the Hurricanes will have a little more than $5.8 million in deadline cap space. That leaves them with quite a bit of room to take an active role at the deadline should they seek to add help as they seek to reach the Eastern Conference finals for a second-consecutive season — and advance to the Stanley Cup Final this time around.