Hurricanes: Reviewing the Marleau Trade After Leafs Fired Babcock

On the day of the draft the Carolina Hurricanes made a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs to acquire Forward Patrick Marleau, how does this trade currently look for both teams?

On June 22nd 2019, the Carolina Hurricanes acquired Patrick Marleau, a 2020 1st round pick, and a 2020 7th round pick from Toronto for a 2020 6th round pick. Carolina would only get the 2020 pick if it is not in the top 10, if it is, it becomes a 2021 1st round pick, no matter where it falls.

Patrick Marleau would never play an NHL game for the Hurricanes and would be bought out just a few days later. Marleau missed the start of the season, but would return to his favored destination in the California Bay Area San Jose Sharks. Marleau has recorded a career 1,657 NHL games played, and has 1,082 points excluding the 2019-20 NHL season.

Marleau is a first ballot future hall-of-famer, so you may be wondering why did Toronto give up so much to depart with the legend? Simply put, cap space. Marleau made 6,250,000 against the cap. Toronto had to re-sign Mitch Marner and needed to move on from the former 2nd overall pick. Carolina have recently come across an owner whom is not afraid to spend big.

Tom Dundon basically bought a 1st round pick:

So why did Carolina have the contract flexibility to take on the Marleau deal? After all, Sebastian Aho needed re-signing and that was going to be expensive, Teuvo Teravainen had a new deal kicking in. Simply put, it’s magic. The Carolina Hurricanes have a top 3 defense in the league that was locked in.

Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce make pennies on the dollar, and Dougie Hamilton makes only a little more. Carolina have great contract management, which is a tribute to Ron Francis.

So, what are the long term effects to Carolina after the Marleau buyout? We all remember how the Alexander Semin buyout is still being paid for, so how long would we have to pay for Marleau? Marleau signed his contract over the age of 35, so it’s just a 1 year cap hit. Everything he was making in a single year. $6,250,000 this year, and then it’s done. Gone. Quite cheap for a 1st round pick.

Speaking off that 1st round pick, where is it likely to be? Toronto is a great team right, so it should be around the 20 mark, when they get eliminated in TD garden by Boston as is tradition, right? Well, currently Toronto sits with what would be the 10th overall pick in an incredibly deep draft. If that pick is 11th overall or higher, Carolina gets it, if not Toronto keeps it.

But the story gets even weirder with a bombshell dropped last night:

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With Toronto recently firing head coach Mike Babcock, it is clear to see that the Maple Leafs are in a free fall, and as heartless as this sounds, it’s what’s best for Carolina right now. Toronto has forced itself to the cap and has left no room for injuries or to maneuver a trade to fix things.

As fans of the Carolina Hurricanes, we all know what it’s like to suffer with a team that is so good on paper to only under-perform on the ice. However, it is in the best interests of the Carolina Hurricanes to see the Maple Leafs continue their struggles and hope that the pick comes as high as possible, to allow Carolina the opportunity to select the best possible player.

Question for Cardiac Cane readers: Would you prefer to see the pick in this years draft at the 11th overall spot or lower, or next years draft wherever it falls?