In the spirit of Valentines Day, the Daily Faceoff Live podcast played matchmaker on a few key trade targets. Given that the Leafs are absolutely looking for a defenceman and the Flames going to be aggressive sellers, this connection was to be expected. What you might not have expected is the deal doesn’t include Chris Tanev.
Here’s the breakdown of Frank’s deal.
Toronto receives:
- Noah Hanifin
- Andrew Mangiapane (50% of his salary retained)
This is a very interesting combination. Noah Hanifin might not be the physical, hard nosed style of defenceman that the Leafs are supposedly looking for but he addresses a different need, he is likely the most talented defenceman available and the most natural fit in a top pairing. The Leafs need to prioritize quality over specific skill sets on defence and with his age being better suited to re-signing on a long term deal, Hanifin is an interesting option in that regard as well, even if it might be an uphill battle to either get him to continue playing in Canada or finding the cap space to retain him.
Andrew Mangiapane has been on a decline since Brad Treliving signed him to his deal. The Toronto native would likely welcome the opportunity to find his game in his hometown playing for a general manager who believes in him. I’m not sure there are too many Leafs fans overly excited about adding another undersized forward but secondary scoring has been an issue for the Leafs this season and Mangiapane helps address that too.
Calgary receives:
- 2024 1st round pick
- 2024 3rd round pick
- 2024 5th round pick
- Topi Niemela
- Nick Robertson
- Ryan Reaves
At this point Nick Robertson might be pretty close to what Andrew Mangiapane is. If you believe in Mangiapane a bit more or feel the edge in performance he has over Robertson today rather than in the future is worth it, that’s a selling point.
Let’s say the inclusion of the 3rd is the price to pay for taking on the Reaves contract and the 5th is the price to pay for salary retention on Andrew Mangiapane. That’s probably fair.
It now comes down to a 2024 1st and Topi Niemela for Noah Hanifin and that doesn’t seem particularly bad.
The combination of all the pieces together though is the Leafs blowing up a lot of their future and might not be worth it unless there is a strong possibility of Hanifin re-signing with the Maple Leafs, which would be an uphill battle from a salary cap perspective.
The value seems pretty close, but the question remains? Would you make this trade if you were Brad Treliving or for that matter, Craig Conroy?
More must-reads: