When Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney decided to sell off at the trade deadline last March, little did anyone, not even Sweeney, know how well things would turn out. Heck, not even Bruins fans were thinking things might turn out the way they did.
Now that the dust has settled, it turned out to be a good decision for Sweeney. He is seeing some fruits of his choices, mainly in his deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. There is no other way to put it other than the Bruins fleeced Toronto. Not only did Sweeney get a first-round pick for defenseman Brandon Carlo, along with prospect Fraser Minten. Who saw Minten becoming the player he has been this season?
Now, almost a year later, who had the Maple Leafs likely going the Bruins route at this deadline? Not many. In fact, the roles have been flipped with the Black and Gold sitting in a postseason spot while Toronto is considering going down a deadline road they rarely have lately.
Maple Leafs urged to follow Bruins blueprint at trade deadline
James Mirtle and Chris Johnston of The Athletic took a look at what a Maple Leafs potential retool might look like, and they are pointing Toronto down the road of following what Sweeney did last March.
"What’s instructive about what the Bruins did last season, however, is they waited and plotted before making their moves. This wasn’t a panicked rush job; it took weeks of planning and it used the pressure point of the deadline to extract more assets from desperate teams than they would have earlier in the season," they wrote.
Basically, what they are saying is that Brad Treliving needs to find the next team that is desperate and looking to be fleeced. There is no other way to put it. Now, in a perfect scenario for the Black and Gold, Toronto making a mini run at the playoff spot might not be a bad thing in terms of the first-round pick that is up for grabs this June. It is top 5 protected for Toronto, but in a indeal world, NHL Draft Lottery luck for a second year in a row for Boston would be huge for the future.
Until then, Toronto, like everyone else, has some big decisions coming up over the next month plus.