Toronto Maple Leafs Desperate For The NHL Trade Deadline To Arrive

The NHL All-Star break has started, giving teams and players a few days off to relax and prepare for the final stretch of games. The Toronto Maple Leafs couldn’t be more relieved to have a few days off after only winning one of their last ten games, and it’s become obvious from watching them play that Toronto is a team that’s just waiting for the NHL Trade Deadline.

Toronto won’t be making the playoffs this year — no question. The upside to this is that Toronto will probably finish in the very bottom of the league and have a good shot at the top overall draft pick. Toronto is currently tied for last place in the NHL with 43 points alongside the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Edmonton Oilers.

Aside from a few pleasant surprises this season like Leo Komarov putting up 31 points in 48 games, the rest has been a series of disappointments. The main disappointment is how poorly the players that Toronto acquired in the offseason have played. All of the the following players were signed or acquired with the intention of being traded for draft picks at the Trade Deadline: P.A. Parenteau, Shawn Matthias, Brad Boyes, Michael Grabner, and Nick Spaling. Only Parenteau and Matthias have played well. Parenteau has 23 points in 48 games and Matthias has 14 points in 47 games.

Parenteau had a poor season with the Montreal Canadiens last year, but has really surprised everyone this year. Matthias has played as well as was expected for a third line defensive center. Those two players will probably net Toronto a good return at the Trade Deadline, but the same can’t be said for the rest of the players.

Toronto will still get a bunch of draft picks from trading all of those UFA players at the Trade Deadline, but it has been surprising with how disappointing they’ve been this season. As a team with no clear star players, it gives players a chance to prove themselves and get more ice time. By being on a undeniably bad team like Toronto, players are able to play higher in the lineup than they might on another team.

With how poorly everyone has been playing, it seems that they’re all just waiting to see who gets traded and who stays. None of the Toronto Maple Leafs players seems to have any enthusiasm or energy in recent games.