Kyle Dubas wasted no time making his first public move the day after the Stanley Cup was presented to the Washington Capitals.
Yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs sent the Edmonton Oilers the rights to Nolan Vesey in exchange for conditional 2020 7th round pick. The conditions are unknown, but Vesey subsequently signed an extension with the Oilers shortly thereafter.
#Oilers announce they’ve signed Nolan Vesey to a two-year, entry-level contract after acquiring him from the #Leafs
— Dhiren Mahiban (@dcmahiban) June 8, 2018
The conditions could have been contingent on him signing an ELC — which he did — or it could be based on Vesey playing a predetermined amount of NHL games.
Should the conditions be met, this would give the Maple Leafs three 7th round picks in the 2020 NHL Draft (the other acquired in the Eric Fehr trade with San Jose), for 9 picks total.
Vesey was quite far down the Maple Leafs depth chart and realistically had no shot at cracking the roster at anytime. He’s not a player with any standout skill, but is noted for his hardworking style. Vesey’s father, Jim Sr. is an amateur scout with the Maple Leafs.
While not a noteworthy trade, history tells us teams that complete deals together are more likely to make them in the future. The Oilers have made some very questionable trades and the General Manager, Peter Chiarelli, is under extreme pressure to build a championship team around the league’s best offensive player, Connor McDavid. So far, the moves he has made have not worked out as expected and the franchise is bleeding talent with each successive trade they make. Whether or not more deals can be made between the two clubs remains to be seen, but the lines of communication are no doubt open now. Of note: the last time the two organizations completed a transaction was June 27, 2015, when the Maple Leafs acquired Martin Marincin for Brad Ross and 107th overall pick. This was the period of time that new Maple Leafs GM, Kyle Dubas was in the driver seat on the draft floor before the hiring of Lou Lamoriello; this isn’t the first time that Chiarelli and Dubas have made a deal and there appears to be a level of trust developing between the two.
It has been noted that Craig MacTavish, current Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Oilers, has been a regular fixture scouting the Toronto Marlies all year — including their Calder Cup playoff run. The Maple Leafs were also heavily scouted by the Oilers leading up to the trade deadline this past season, including Chiarelli himself.
The Maple Leafs have a glut of talent on the wing and this is a current area of weakness for the Oilers that they are trying to shore up. There have also been some strong rumours of the Oilers looking to move left winger Milan Lucic and his big contract, and curiously, Oscar Klefbom, a left shot defenceman — defence being another area of weakness on their team.
It’s certainly an interesting story line to follow leading up to draft day.
Leafs Links:
- Off-Season Game Plan: Toronto Maple Leafs
Scott Cullen continues with his off-season game plan for all 31 teams. Today, it’s the Maple Leafs turn, but the entire series is a great way to stay in touch with the positives and negatives of each franchise as we enter the off-season. - Q&A: Mats Sundin talks Alex Ovechkin, Maple Leafs captaincy
Mats Sundin was back in Toronto recently to unveil his banner and to have it raised at SickKids Hospital, as well as to attend The Mats Sundin VIP Hockey Experience presented by LeoVegas.net. He sat down with the folks at Sportsnet to discuss both events, as well as the Matthews and the Leafs captaincy. - Dreger: There’s a considerable amount of interest in van Riemsdyk
Darren Dreger joined Leafs Lunch to discuss the lead up to the Cup Final, the future of Erik Karlsson & John Carlson, also what the Leafs off-season could look like. - Ferraro: Nylander could learn from a player like Kuznetsov
TSN Hockey analyst Ray Ferraro joins OverDrive from Vegas to discuss Washington taking a 3-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Final, his thoughts on what Vegas might change heading into Game 5, plus if there are any comparables to some of the Capitals high-skill forwards and the Maple Leafs youngsters. - Down Goes Brown: 10 big-name NHL players who could get traded this summer
DGB breaks down the big names available during this off-season. Erik Karlsson, Ryan O’Reilly, Phil Kessel, Max Pacioretty, Dougie Hamilton and more. - Dellow: On the value of draft picks and a look at reasonable trades the Canadian teams could make
Tyler Dellow looks at some trade down scenarios for the NHL draft and subsequent values for each pick based off of former blogger — now Carolina Hurricanes front office member — Eric Tulsky, and his model for valuing draft picks. - Lamoriello regains Devils level of power with Islanders
Of particular interest is whether Lamoriello leans on some Toronto ties when he makes his next hires – Hunter is considered a strong candidate to be GM while Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe and Leafs assistant D.J. Smith are both possibilities behind the bench.
