The Toronto Maple Leafs lost one of the top scorers in the AHL; if they hadn’t traded him, they would have had one of the top point producers in the league. The Toronto Maple Leafs had a narrow perspective on the route they needed to take in order to secure the Stanley Cup in 2023. We found out that their strategy wasn’t successful as we watched the team get eliminated from the playoffs. We now know that the organization has suffered this year as a result of the decisions made last season.
One of the top scorers in the AHL was traded away by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On February 17, the Toronto Maple Leafs made a significant trade to acquire Ryan O’Reilly, an elite center, for the Blue and White. He was acquired by the Leafs, St. Louis Blues, and Minnesota Wild as the centerpiece of a three-team trade.Along with O’Reilly, center Noel Acciari made the trip to Toronto. The Leafs’ acquisition of those players appeared to be a botched job.
The 2023 first-round draft pick was the most valuable component of the package the Leafs sent to St. Louis. Otto Stenberg, who is presently a player in the Swedish Hockey League, was the player chosen by the Blues. How that turns out is too early to tell. In exchange for the Blues agreeing to trade their captain to Toronto, the Leafs also forfeited their third-round pick in 2023 and their upcoming second-round pick in 2024.
There was more to the trade. Two other players were acquired by St. Louis as a consequence of that enormous transaction. Adam Gaudette and Mikhail Abramov are those people. Abramov scored nine goals in 16 games this season—three of which came from assists—while playing for the Springfield Thunderbirds, the Blues’ AHL farm team. While those are respectable figures, they pale in comparison to Gaudette’s achievements.
The 27-year-old forward Gaudette is another member of the Thunderbirds roster. The Vancouver Canucks selected him in the fifth round (149th overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Over the course of seven seasons, he has participated in 218 NHL games. At the highest level of the game, he hasn’t been too bad, scoring 70 points on 27 goals and 43 assists.
The native of Braintree, Massachusetts has been dominating the AHL in Springfield, Massachusetts this season. He was the top scorer in the league for several weeks. AHL statistics show that in his first 21 games, Gaudette had nine assists and thirteen goals. With those 22 points, you can tie for fourth place in the scoring standings. He is also the second-highest goal scorer, trailing only Logan Stankoven of the Texas Stars by one goal.
The right-shooting forward, who stands 6 feet 1 inch and weighs 194 pounds, is creating more offensive opportunities than he has in his professional career. In the 40 games he played for the Toronto Marlies, he did manage to record 20 goals and 14 assists. Their knowledge of Gaudette’s producing abilities was evident, but there was no sign that he would simply keep improving.
Gaudette would have been a huge asset to the Marlies this season, as they pursue a Calder Cup. His presence would have increased the danger of the team’s offensive. He might have even been the Maple Leafs’ short-term solution to cover a roster spot when regulars were sidelined by injuries.
Does this imply that the O’Reilly trade was regretted by the Toronto Maple Leafs? Given that O’Reilly left Toronto during the offseason and the team did not advance past the second round of the playoffs, it is conceivable. But there’s no question that Leafs brass would be willing to sacrifice Gaudette if they had the chance to make the exact same trade again.