The Maple Leafs In My Opinion

Most of you have already heard the news by now, but if you haven't, here's what transpired. During the annual Media Day, the Leafs traded forward Taylor Beck and Carter Verhaeghe, defensemen Matt Finn and Tom Nilsson, and goaltender Christopher Gibson to the New York Islanders in exchange for forward Michael Grabner. Upon first glance, the trade comes as a complete shock. It seems weird that the Leafs were ok with giving up a bunch of prospects that seemed to have a future with the Leafs for proven player in the middle of his prime. The trade goes completely against the rebuild, right? Well not exactly. See, prior to this trade, the Leafs were in a jam in terms of the number of players under contract. Under the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the maximum number of players an NHL team can have under contract  is 50. This includes the main team of 23 players and 27 prospects in the farm system. The Leafs had 49 players before the deal was made and now have 45

When a team decides to trade a player, there is usually numerous reasons as to why they decide to go on that route. Sometimes the trade helps bring the team more talent by upgrading a certain position. Other times, this player is struggling with his surroundings and is moved in an attempt to vitalize his game while bringing back the team something useful in return. Perhaps the player is the missing piece to a Stanley Cup win for the receiving team and the selling team was looking to cash in on the buyers large offers. Or this player is the burden in the path of a complete roster overhaul and his departure marks the beginning of a new era. Maybe this player is setting a bad example to his teammates and it is mandatory that he is shown the door as soon as possible. Enter Phil Kessel. The awkward superstar of a disastrous era for the Maple Leafs had dazzled fans for years with his blistering speed and his wicked wrist shot which propelled him to the Leaf leader in goals and point