Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup hopes in jeopardy
The Toronto Maple Leafs' path to the Stanley Cup just became tougher after two big competitors, the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars, gained significant cap flexibility in the last few days.
As seen on the Editor In Leaf, these developments shows the importance of the NHL's salary cap and how it impacts contenders' success.
The New York Rangers traded Jacob Trouba and his $8 million cap hit to the Anaheim Ducks and the Ducks not only absorbed Trouba's contract but even compensated the Rangers in the process.
This gives New York the ability to add $8 million worth of talent before the trade deadline.
With stars like Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin already on their roster, this flexibility makes them even more better than they was at the beginning.
For the Leafs who already face cap challenges are disadvantaged by this move.
The Dallas Stars placed Tyler Seguin on LTIR and this was freeing up his $9 million cap hit while he recovers from injury, a move we saw in the past by the Vegas Golden Knights.
This allows Dallas to reinvest that cap space in new players ahead of the playoffs and once the postseason begins, Tyler Seguin can return without affecting the salary cap.
The Stars were already considered contenders, and this move gives them even more room to improve their roster during the year so that they are ready for the playoffs.
And you, do you think these two moves are a disadvantage for the Leafs and their playoffs contention? Do you think they should make a big trade?
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 8 | 180 ANSWERS Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup hopes in jeopardy Do you think the Toronto Maple Leafs should make some moves to be better in playoffs? | ||
| Yes | 159 | 88.3 % |
| No | 21 | 11.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
