Leafs trade Winnik + pick for Laich, Pick and Prospect
Posted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 7:50 am
Continuing their trend of making pre-deadline moves, the Leafs have just traded Daniel Winnik and a 5th round pick in 2016 to the Capitals in exchange for Brooks Laich, a second round pick in 2016 and Connor Carrick.
I actually like this deal quite a bit. There's no doubt that Winnik is a better player than Laich at this point in their careers, but I'm not sure the gap is THAT big and they can actually fill similar roles on a losing team, which the Leafs definitely are. In making the trade, the leafs will essentially move up 60 spots in the draft (from an early fifth to a late second. To me, that's already a good deal. On top of that, Carrick isn't a complete dud of a prospect (he's far from blue chip, but he's not useless, at least at the AHL level with more than 1 point every 2 games). He's still young (21) and a reasonably gifted offensive defenseman, just very undersized. He has played in the NHL and I wouldn't be surprised if he at least got a shot with the Leafs.
I actually like this deal quite a bit. There's no doubt that Winnik is a better player than Laich at this point in their careers, but I'm not sure the gap is THAT big and they can actually fill similar roles on a losing team, which the Leafs definitely are. In making the trade, the leafs will essentially move up 60 spots in the draft (from an early fifth to a late second. To me, that's already a good deal. On top of that, Carrick isn't a complete dud of a prospect (he's far from blue chip, but he's not useless, at least at the AHL level with more than 1 point every 2 games). He's still young (21) and a reasonably gifted offensive defenseman, just very undersized. He has played in the NHL and I wouldn't be surprised if he at least got a shot with the Leafs.