The Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks executed a trade today, bringing Sam Lafferty to the West Coast.
Sam Lafferty Finds a Home
The Vancouver Canucks continue to add former Pittsburgh Penguins to the lineup. Lafferty, a 4th-round selection in 2014, is joining his fourth NHL team in four years. The 28-year-old, right-shot forward is versatile, playing any forward position. But in Vancouver, it will be challenging to find the middle of the ice, given their additions of Pius Suter and Teddy Blueger. That being said, it wouldn’t surprise if he was on the wing until there was a faceoff on his strong side. All of Vancouver’s other centres are left-shot, and a right-shot centre was one of the team’s goals this offseason.
Trickle-Down Effects
The Maple Leafs traded for Lafferty in a larger deal in February this year as part of their playoff push. He scored two goals and six points in 19 regular season games for them, then one goal and three assists through nine playoff matches. What they’re getting back is nominally Vancouver’s fifth-round pick in the 2024 entry draft. The real benefit to the Leafs is the $1.15 million salary cap the Canucks have now taken on. They are still, according to CapFriendly, far over the salary cap limit, even with long-term injured reserve considerations.
What the Canucks gain in bringing in Sam Lafferty is harder to discern. Yes, he’s a right-hand centre with experience playing short-handed. Those are certainly positives. But how much better than the now-waived Jack Studnicka is he?
He scored 12 goals and 27 points last season, but that was almost entirely with a miserable Chicago Blackhawks squad. Bragging about reaching career highs with a deliberately tanking team is a stretch. Vancouver not only waived Studnicka to get Lafferty, but they are now even further over the salary cap than they were last week. Unless they know something about Carson Soucy‘s injury we don’t expect another deal to be made before the 10th.
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