[Toronto Maple Leafs] Breaking Down the Lupul Deal

[JD88]

Breaking down the Lupul deal is an easy task as Leafs GM Brian Burke continues to pull favors from his old team to make what seems to be the impossible, possible.

In dishing Beauchemin the Leafs clear 3.8 million of their cap for what Dobber properly puts it as “a solid No. 4 defenseman whom the Leafs had miscast as a No.2 guy.� There is no doubting that he still has skills to offer the Ducks as he was first on the team with blocked shots and plays an OK overall game. As a player Beauchemin does not excel or fail at any part of being a defenseman but was over paid and over played in Toronto. The move for him should go well as he is going to a team that has a good chance to make the play-offs and to a team in which he is familiar with.

In Lupul the Leafs get a solid top six player that could potentially be a top line player for the Buds alongside the underwhelming Phil Kessel. He is signed for next three years at 4.25 million which if he turns out to be what the Leafs expect is respectable. Lupul was lost in the forward depth in Anaheim but will be given every opportunity in Toronto and he has shown that he can play in the past. Before the last two injury prone years he had 46 points in 56 games for the Flyers back in 07-08 and 50 points in 79 games the year after so the skill level is there. At only 27 years old Lupul is just coming into his glory years and if his back problems are behind him there is no reason that he should not be able to put up 65-plus point seasons with his new team.

Also not to be lost in the mix is prospect Jake Gardiner who has been pegged as a very skilled offensive defenseman who is currently playing for the University of Wisconsin Badger’s and is third on the team in points. He has been dubbed by his coach as player that see’s the ice very well, skates well and can make that first pass out of his own zone. Gardiner is a few years away from making any kind of an impact on the Leafs team but he should be seen in the AHL next year with the Marlies as he hones in his skills and learns to play the game at the professional level.

The Leafs also received as part of the deal a conditional draft pick which is based on the amount of games that Lupul plays for them the next two years. Depending on the totals the Leafs will get either a 4th or 6th round pick in 2013.

The trade is great news for Phil Kessel as hopefully the skill level of Lupul will help Kessel get his game going in the right direction again. The odd man out I would think is Joey Crabb. Although he has shown hustle and at times an offensive flair he has been outplay by Boyce who now looks to be the future fourth line centre between Orr and Brown. As of today the Leafs have waived Mitchell to make room on the roster for Lupul but someone is going to have to sit, Rosehill’s toughness is needed in the line at this time so Crabb is looking more and more like the odd man out.

The deal also affects the Leafs blueline obviously and while Gunnarsson will see the immediate impact in ice time increase there is hope that this move will make room for Keith Aulie to take his rightful place on the NHL roster. When Aulie played this year for the Leafs while Phaneuf was out with his leg injury he showed the Leafs fans a future shut-down stud on the back end and more than proved that he belonged up with the big boys, so with Beauchemin gone I would like to think that he slots in next Komisarek on the third pairing.

With this deal the new Leafs depth chart is starting to look more complete going into next year and there are fewer question marks remaining. Not only do the Leafs get younger and more offensive but better defensively going forward and lose a contract that they needed to off load. All and all a great deal by Burke as he continues to impress at the GM position with his worthwhile trades and off loading of contracts. As Leaf fans we can only hope that this is the start to a busy deadline and maybe even a top line centre.

[Dean Youngblood]

Losing Beauchemin means more ice time for that shithole Komisarek.....

I am hoping that Aulie can prove he can log big minutes on the big leafs so we don't need Komi on the ice.

Good writeup JD. Well summarized!


Burke's next Anaheim trade in the making - Perry for Grabovski

[duballstar014]

Nice writeup. There's a few things to take into consideration also:

Jake Gardiner, though older and drafted earlier, was passed on the Wisconsin depth chart by Anaheim prospect Justin Schultz. Anaheim actually saw Gardiner as expendable.

Joffrey Lupul waived his NTC to come to Toronto. No one is mentioning that at all. While I'm not a fan of his inconsistency and the remaining years of his contract, you do know that he WANTED to come to Toronto.

I actually like the deal for Anaheim as they needed another D-man really bad, they shed salary, and moved a defensive prospect that had been passed on their depth chart. It's a pretty good trade for both sides actually, though I'm a little hesitant of Lupul's contract, but that's just me.

[Flyer Fan]

I think the Leafs win here just escaping Beauchemin's contract, getting a prospect like Gardiner to do so makes it a great deal.

Maybe accepting Lupul's contract, if contributes nothing, is the price for that, and this would still be a winner for the Leafs.

That said, a healthy Lupul will contribute, and is a significant upgrade to the Leaf's forwards, ...he adds size, speed, and skill. By all accounts he is healthy.

He was buried in Anaheim behind some very good players, likewise when he was in Philadelphia he was competing for icetime against guys like Umberger, Knuble, Gagne, Hartnell etc.

He's a guy that's hungry for an opportunity, and as was pointed out, waived his NTC to go to Toronto to get it.

He's also a guy that will help the Leaf's on the powerplay and isn't afraid to take abuse in front, ...though when he was in Philly, Knuble was better at filling that role, ...not sure how/if he's been used in Anaheim with regards to that, but I saw he's only getting about two minutes of powerplay time there, so it might be an untapped resource for the Leaf's to use and create a little more space for a guy like Kessel out there, or a little more traffic in front for opposing goaltenders to see point shots through.

I think Leaf fans are going to enjoy having him, and as I said above, this trade is already a win for the Leaf's (and the Ducks), whatever Lupul adds will be gravy.

[Dean Youngblood]

Nice writeup. There's a few things to take into consideration also:

Jake Gardiner, though older and drafted earlier, was passed on the Wisconsin depth chart by Anaheim prospect Justin Schultz. Anaheim actually saw Gardiner as expendable.

Joffrey Lupul waived his NTC to come to Toronto. No one is mentioning that at all. While I'm not a fan of his inconsistency and the remaining years of his contract, you do know that he WANTED to come to Toronto.

I actually like the deal for Anaheim as they needed another D-man really bad, they shed salary, and moved a defensive prospect that had been passed on their depth chart. It's a pretty good trade for both sides actually, though I'm a little hesitant of Lupul's contract, but that's just me.

Great point about Shultz. He was impressive in the WJC.

It's good news that Lupul waived his NTC for Toronto too. We need players that want to play here. His contract sucks but Toronto doesn't have many upcoming RFA to sign so this contract shouldn't hold them back too much with fitting everyone under the salary cap

[Wfactor]

Great write up JD, solid review of what I believe to be a good trade for the leafs
Aulie will hopefully prove to the leafs organization that he deserves to play top 4 minutes, while Kom, and Lebda deserve to get paid 500K and sit on a bench....
I'm really looking forward to watching Lupul play, I have hardly watched him, but have been intrigued by him for a while.

[mister_mcgoo]

Lupul has looked like garbage since he went to Anaheim but he's had some bad luck too, if he gets back to his old form he could make a nice impact in TO. Beauchemin IMO shouldn't even be in the NHL, especially not at the price the Leafs were paying him... so I would chalk this up as another baffling win for Burke...I swear he's got naked hooker pictures of half the league's GMs or something the way he pulls these deals

[JD88]

Thanks guys and great point on the NTC I did not hear that and yes its great that he see's this as a great opportunity!