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Maple Leafs Should Let 2 Deadline Additions Walk This Offseason

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Jesse Courville-Lynch | Last updated 3/26/24

The Toronto Maple Leafs are making a push for a Stanley Cup this season without a doubt. They made their intentions known at the trade deadline with several acquisitions including Joel Edmundson, Connor Dewar and Ilya Lyubushkin. They have a strong enough team to contend and potentially make a Cinderella run this season, but they have the odds stacked against them heading into the postseason. The teams around them got better and improved with stronger players than what the Maple Leafs were able to bring in, and so they are by no means considered the favourites heading in. While Dewar is a solid bottom-six forward addition, they missed hard with the Lyubushkin and Edmundson deals.

While Lyubushkin and Edmundson may add some depth to the Maple Leafs’ defensive core for the remainder of the season, they aren’t going to move the needle or help the team much in the postseason. It helps that they were acquired for close to nothing and there is money being retained on both contracts this season, but they still weren’t great additions for the Maple Leafs. Lyubushkin is a liability defensively and doesn’t have much of an offensive side, thus not providing anything. Edmundson isn’t quite as bad, but he’s aging and has declined in recent seasons defensively. Neither player will be much help in the postseason except to be another body on the bench in case of injury.

Since joining the Maple Leafs, Edmundson has no points in seven games. While he never provided much offensively to begin with, he hasn’t really done anything to help benefit the offensive play or help his teammates get set up for scoring opportunities. He is an average seventh defender who can provide some stability if he is in a limited role come the playoffs, but he continues to decline and has not been solid since joining his new team. He is an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, and the Maple Leafs need to let him walk to free agency.

Lyubushkin hasn’t been much better. He has two assists through eight games since joining the Maple Leafs, but he has continued to be a liability just as he was during his time with the Anaheim Ducks before the trade. While I don’t think they should bring back either player since they will likely ask for too much money, Lyubushkin should be someone they don’t even consider re-signing. As seen in the graphic above, his analytical numbers are not great at all. He is not worth his current contract and with how tight the Maple Leafs are for money with players still left to re-sign next season, they should be ecstatic that he is leaving their team at the end of the season.

Maple Leafs Will Have Better Options in Free Agency

While good defenders are hard to come by, the Maple Leafs will have some better options come free agency. Brady Skjei, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, and Brett Pesce are all pending unrestricted free agents and could be upgrades that help stabilize the team’s defensive lineup. Regardless of who they choose to target in the offseason, they need to avoid re-signing either Edmundson or Lyubushkin.

The Maple Leafs are back in action on Tuesday (March 26) in a battle against the struggling New Jersey Devils. They have 89 points as a team with 12 games remaining and are eight points back of the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins for the Atlantic Division lead. Hopefully, they finish out the season strong and can make a run for a Stanley Cup, but also make the right decisions this offseason to give them an even better chance at becoming champions in the 2024-25 season.

This article first appeared on The Hockey Writers and was syndicated with permission.

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