"Winners & Losers" often aren't known until a year later.
Last year the Leafs traded a 1st and Nikita Grebenkin (22 y.o., 47 gp for Philly this season) for Scott Laughton. Today they traded away Laughton for a 3rd.
Last year the Leafs traded Fraser Minten (21 y.o, 14G 15A in 61GP for Boston this season), a 1st and a 4th for Brandon Carlo.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/trade-deadline-winners-and-losers-we-all-benefit-from-non-stop-day-of-deals/
WINNERS
Toronto Maple Leafs
It went down to the wire, but the Leafs got their guys. Had the day ended with third-line centre Scott Laughton being the Buds’ big prize, it probably would have felt like a slight disappointment given everything else that went on directly around them in the division. But grabbing Brandon Carlo right before 3 p.m. ET made this a strong deadline for GM Brad Treliving. Laughton is under contract for another spring, Carlo is inked for another two and both come with lighter cap hits thanks to salary retention.
Carlo, as a huge, right-shot blue-liner, should really help Toronto’s defencemen fill roles they’re best suited for.
LOSERS
Boston Bruins
If you want to zag — and, pulling back in the curtain a bit, I almost did — and call the B’s winners, you laud them for picking a lane and hammering the accelerator. There was no hemming or hawing from GM Don Sweeney, who, to the surprise of many, ushered in a new phase of team-building in Boston by moving out some central-core pieces.
Selling pending UFAs like Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau is one thing, but moving your captain, Brad Marchand, is another, and dealing away important players with term left on their deals like Charlie Coyle and Brandon Carlo can only be interpreted as a major shift in approach for Boston.
The team wasn’t going anywhere this year, but we didn’t enter deadline day prepared to do a real re-evaluation of what Boston’s next two or three seasons look like.
