After a pathetic loss to the Florida Panthers and an abysmal loss against the New York Rangers; Dubas had enough and puled the trigger on a nice little trade to acquire some quality grit along with a new backup goaltender. I’m a fan of Dubas as he’s been working wonders with this Maple Leafs team, he’s very creative with the cap and seems to have a firm grasp on what the new NHL is all about. It’s about damned time he got a backup goalie to replace Hutchinson; it was getting Toskala level bad.

Hopefully it’s not too late.

This Frederik Andersen injury couldn’t have come at a worse time. A neck injury is the word on the street and if you’ve ever slept weird or had a collision playing hockey you know all about what it’s like to get a kink in the neck and can’t even check your blind spot while driving. So if Freddie has anything going on like this (or a concussion), it will just take him some time to recover and shouldn’t be too much longer before he’s back between the pipes.

Jack Campbell will hopefully replace Hutchinson’s playing time and will fare better for the blue and white. He’s taken some time to develop to where he’s at now in his career, but Campbell has certainly improved as a goaltender since being moved to Los Angeles where he worked with Jonathan Quick to get a handle on things. It could pan out nicely for both sides here if Campbell can get the job done as a back up the Leafs will be happy to keep him as they have had basically no luck with backup goalies over the years. Campbell has two years remaining on his contract after this season, his cap hit is 1.65 million.

The big asset in this trade is Kyle Clifford. He grew up playing for the Barrie Colts and was drafted by Los Angeles in the second round back in 2009. He’s been a King for his entire career and has won two Stanley Cups with 55 playoff games under his belt. As a Maple Leafs I’m expecting Clifford to play about fifteen minutes a game and be punishing people for a good chunk of those minutes! It’s been a long time since the Leafs have had a player like Clifford and I imagine he will be welcomed with open arms in the Leafs dressing room. The Leafs upper management team is quite fond of Clifford as a player and a person in the dressing room. He’s been highly respected by his LA teammates and will add some good character to the Leafs roster. They really were in need of some grit, but not just grit, someone who can play the game and play it with a mean edge.

Don’t be shocked to see Clifford drop the gloves in his first few games to really set the tone and begin to win the hearts of Leafs Nation. Clifford, like many pro hockey players grew up watching the Maple Leafs and look at this as an experience of a life time and dream come true. I expect Clifford to play with his heart in the right spot and give it everything he’s got; he’s going to be a very solid addition to the Leafs and fills a much needed void that should help with their push going forward. Clifford is a UFA at season’s end and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him go back to LA.

So you think Dubas is done? I certainly do not.

I’m thinking he’s going to swing for the fences here with a big time addition on the back end. The Leafs need a good hard nosed defenseman, I think we can all agree on that. I’m loving the way Sandin has been playing but we need one more guy who can help keep the puck out of the net.

Even after loosing Moore in this trade the Leafs still have such quality up front they can make a splash with one of Kapanen, Johnsson or Kerfoot. Could Liljegren be added in to make the bold trade happen? If Dubas can land a stud defender the Leafs can have some options going forward with Ceci, Muzzin, Barrie all being UFA’s at seasons end.

I’ll be at the game tonight against Anaheim and I’m looking forward to seeing a win and Matthews score his 40th of the season. It should be a dandy of a night and hopefully one that has new comers Campbell and Clifford in the lineup. The Leafs must get some wins strung together or this season is going to be lost and one could argue it’s due to the poor start with Babcock or the fact that Hutchinson was atrocious almost every time he was called upon.

Let’s not worry about that, let’s worry about a win tonight and a win tomorrow against Montreal.

Have a great day, and enjoy the two nights of Leafs hockey ahead!

Thanks for reading.

Go Leafs Go!

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