Recent Maple Leafs Trade Suddenly a Lot More Controversial and Questionable

For the first time in years, the Maple Leafs entered an offseason focused on building depth. It wasn't that they didn't want to do this before, but with so much money tied up in the old but not forgotten Core Four, finding room for quality third and fourth-line players was almost impossible. This year, that finally changed.

At last season's trade deadline, Toronto made one of its biggest swings by sending a first-round pick and a promising young prospect to the Philadelphia Flyers for Scott Laughton in what many felt was an egregious overpay by the Leafs.

Laughton, who was one of the most sought-after names available, was drawing serious interest from several contenders. The price was steep, and it stung for Leafs fans. And has only gotten worse.

Nikita Grebenkin, the prospect sent to Philadelphia, was never projected as a top-six forward, but he had quickly become a fan favourite for his larger than life personality and entertaining interviews.

In his seven games with Toronto, Grebenkin didn't record a point, yet his tenacity, relentless forecheck, and high energy showed the makings of a solid bottom-six contributor. That made the deal tough to swallow for some.

Laughton, meanwhile, was expected to give the Leafs a dependable third-line center capable of adding some secondary scoring. Instead, much of his time in Toronto has been spent on the fourth line with Steven Lorentz and Calle Järnkrok.

While Toronto did acquire Laughton at 50% salary retention, making the cap hit manageable, fans still questioned whether the cost of a first-round pick plus a prospect was worth it.

The move stung even more when Laughton had 4 points in his 20 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs and 2 points in the 13 playoff games. He was underwhelming to say the least.

That type of package should have landed the Leafs a legitimate second-line center. Instead, the Leafs may have overpaid for someone who hasn't yet found a true fit, and who appears destined to toil away on the 4th line for good, following the addition of Nicolas Roy, who came to Toronto in the infamous Mitch Marner trade.

Unless Laughton bounces back next season, the deal will look like one of the worst in recent memory.

The addition of Roy, who is bigger, stronger, and more dynamic, may have blocked Laughton's path to more ice time. Roy plays at a level of tenacity and style that perfectly fits Craig Berube's system.

For the Leafs, the best-case scenario is that Laughton still carves out a role as a reliable depth piece. If not, Toronto may have paid a premium for a player whose impact could have been replaced by someone in their prospect pool -- possibly even the same prospect they traded to the Flyers.