Prior to Friday, Toronto Maple Leafs’ captain Auston Matthews came out and stated that he would love to see a boost to the Maple Leafs lineup heading into the home stretch of the season.
Now that the NHL Trade Deadline has passed, Matthews says he’s happy with the deadline the team had and the acquisitions that general manager Brad Treliving made to finalize their group ahead of another tough playoff run.
Subtle compared to others in the tough Atlantic Division, the Maple Leafs brought in two players to bump up their depth and special teams — something that many noted the team would be after heading into Friday.
Maple Leafs Acquire Depth in Laughton, Carlo
Leading up to the deadline, the Maple Leafs were rumoured to be one of the teams included in the Scott Laughton sweepstakes. Born in Oakville, just outside of Toronto, it seemed fitting that the Maple Leafs would acquire another local kid.
With Laughton, the Maple Leafs did have to give up a conditional first-round pick and prospect Nikita Grebyonkin, but for a team that needs to take advantage of where they sit in the standings, the acquisition of the 20th overall pick in 2012 made sense.
He will likely slot in as the team’s third line centre and offers some offensive production while being an extremely capable defensive-minded player. He kills penalties and that alone can grab some minutes back from players like Matthews and Mitch Marner who can then focus on providing that elite-level offence come playoff time.
As for Brandon Carlo, the 28-year-old not only comes over with term on his contract, but he brings size and physicality that the Maple Leafs will love to see in the playoffs — especially going up against teams within their division like the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
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Carlo’s size also makes him a tough defender to go around as his reach is much like that of former teammate Zdeno Chara. Much like Laughton, Carlo offers the team more protection in their own end and a physical presence that will make opposing players think twice about dumping it into his corner — oh, and let’s not forget that it will also give more room for Morgan Rielly to start playing more of his game as well.
Matthews Happy With the Laughton, Carlo Acquisitions
Every year the Maple Leafs have made a move or…
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