The Toronto Maple Leafs might not have added Brad Marchand or Mikko Rantanen, but they acquired Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo, two rock-solid NHL veterans who should help them as they pursue their elusive run to the Stanley Cup Final.
Laughton and Carlo are far from splashes, but the Leafs got much better defensively because of those deals, and added some depth as well.
The effect of adding these two veterans to the mix can be seen in Toronto's updated projected lineup.
Projected Maple Leafs lines: Scott Laughton fits in nicely as third-line center
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
Matthew Knies | Auston Matthews | Mitch Marner |
Pontus Holmberg | John Tavares | William Nylander |
Max Domi | Scott Laughton | Bobby McMann |
Steven Lorentz | David Kampf | Calle Jarnkrok |
Toronto's top six is untouched by the team's deadline maneuverings. The Leafs still have four stars leading the way, and hope Matthew Knies continues to shine in what has been a breakout year for him.
One glaring hole on this team was that it did not have a third-line center. Laughton might be a better winger than he is a center, but he's definitely a better center than Max Domi. He doesn't light up the stat sheet, but he will bring tremendous defense and intensity to Toronto's bottom six while being a useful player on the penalty kill. He's a good addition to the team, particularly at a minuscule $1.5 million cap hit, which is what it comes down to after the Flyers eat 50 percent of his money.
The bottom six as a whole is still a weak spot on this team, but Laughton makes it considerably better than it was. All Leafs fans can hope is it's good enough, and that the top six carries the offensive load.
Projected Maple Leafs defensive pairings: Brandon Carlo gives Morgan Reilly a shutdown partner
Left Defense | Right Defense |
|---|---|
Morgan Rielly | Brandon Carlo |
Jake McCabe | Simon Benoit |
Oliver Ekman-Larsson | Phillipe Myers |
The Maple Leafs needed another defenseman, and based on Rielly, McCabe and Ekman-Larsson being left-handed, a right-hander was preferred. Carlo is right-handed and makes a lot of sense as a defensive defenseman who isn't great with the puck to play with Rielly, an offensive-defenseman who can control the puck.
Like Laughton, Carlo won't light up the stat sheet but will give the Maple Leafs some added stability. The fact that he comes from the Boston Bruins and has familiarity with the Atlantic Division and the playoffs should be incredibly helpful to a unit that has had its ups and downs.
He's had a bit of a down year by his standards, but Hampus Lindholm's injury has a lot to do with that. Playing with Rielly on a contending should help him revert to form.
It might not have been the splashy deadline Maple Leafs fans had been hoping for, and in a sense, it is a bit disappointing that they chose to pursue defense over offense when offense has been their weakness in the playoffs in recent years. Still, it's hard to argue that this isn't a better team better suited to make a deep playoff run than it was 24 hours ago, which is the goal of deadline day, after all.