There are two NHL franchises in the great province of Ontario, but one seems to be much more aware of where they are than the other.
The Ottawa Senators just completed a major trade, sending campaign Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers for three first-round picks and a second rounder. While two of them are years away, they picked up the 9th and 25th overall pick in this year’s draft, which is a deep draft loaded with talent.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Toronto Maple Leafs (who have the number one pick in the draft on Friday), last week added defenceman Darren Raddysh in a sign-and-trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning (eight years at 8.5 million a year), sending them a fifth round pick.
The Ottawa trade makes sense, with Tkachuk now able to play for his brother on a team that is struggling but is not far removed from winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. Ottawa did finish sixth in the conference (5th in the division) but they are nowhere close to winning a cup themselves. Rebuilding and retooling makes sense.
The new Leafs management doesn’t seem to understand that yet, and they should.
Toronto was the worst team in the division last year. They had the fifth worst record overall. Their division may be the best in hockey now with four 100 point teams last season. By comparison, runner-up Vegas, which won their division, had 95.
For Toronto, it’s a time to be trading away assets to build towards a better future 2-3 years down the road when hopefully you have instilled a better culture and work ethic, and prospects for real success.
It’s a message that Ottawa seems to have received, while Toronto may need another painful year of evidence before they do the same.
I’m Paul Martin and that’s what I see looking Beyond the Headlines.
