Grading the Nick Ritchie trade for the Maple Leafs, Coyotes

The trade: The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin and forward Ryan Dzingel from the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night in exchange for Nick Ritchie and a conditional pick. The condition on the pick is that Arizona will choose either Toronto’s 2023 third-round pick or 2025 second-round pick.

The Grades:

Toronto Maple Leafs

This is solid work by Kyle Dubas and the Maple Leafs, as they were able to tick a few items off their to-do list. Their objective was to strengthen the second pair, to find a right-shooting defenseman to play with Jake Muzzin. Only time will tell if Lyubushkin is an upgrade on Justin Holl. He may or may not be.

Nonetheless, the Leafs are getting a reliable defenseman who can slot into their lineup right away. If nothing else, Lyubushkin gives them enhanced depth at the position and would be an upgrade over still-developing Timothy Liljegren in a playoff series. Lyubishkin is a big, physical presence — something that the Leafs didn’t necessarily have in spades. The defense corps will be a little more intimidating with him on the ice, even though he doesn’t play an overly physical game.

As much as the defensive addition is a positive for the Leafs, what’s more impressive is the way they have managed to find more cap flexibility both now and in the future through this deal.

Getting out of Ritchie’s contract is a major coup for the Buds. Toronto had high hopes for Ritchie back in July, when he signed a two-year, $5 million contract following a 15-goal campaign for the Bruins last year. He started the season on the left wing with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, but he never really found his footing and had been relegated to the AHL.

With that, the Leafs were carrying $1.375 million on the cap this season as a buried charge with Ritchie playing for the Marlies. There is no real net cap savings for the Leafs this season, because Lyubushkin comes in at the same cost. But they essentially added Lyubushkin, a pending UFA with no strings attached at a positional need, for what Ritchie already cost in the minors.

The win is that Ritchie’s contract is off the books for next season when every penny is going to count to re-sign Jack Campbell and fill out the third-line left wing spot (Ilya Mikheyev) and fourth-line center role (Jason Spezza).

My assumption is that the Maple Leafs took on Dzingel’s contract in order to reduce Arizona’s real cash spending this season. I would not be surprised to see Dzingel placed on waivers. If he clears, there is no cap penalty, and he would be an excellent insurance policy at forward in case of injury during playoff time.

Finally, Toronto didn’t give up much to achieve its goals. Whether the pick is a third in a perceived deep 2023 class or more likely a second in 2025, the Leafs have time to replenish the pick. More importantly, they didn’t use up the bullets that Dubas talked about recently. They have four weeks until the deadline to launch a trial balloon and see if Lyubushkin adequately fills the hole on their blue line. If he does, the Leafs can begin to tinker on the wing. If not, they have more than enough time — and ammo — to go out and find the second-pair defender they believe makes them a stronger playoff team.

Overall, a tidy piece of business by the Leafs.

Gear’s Grade: A

Arizona Coyotes

Assessed independently and without the context of everything else the Coyotes have done over the last year or so, acquiring a second- or third-round pick and a forward who will play for their team this year and next in exchange for two players on expiring contracts seems like a great deal for the Coyotes. 

If the Yotes had conversations with both Lyubushkin and Dzingel and knew that neither UFA would re-sign with them, getting the return they did is commendable. 

My concern with the deal is that the Coyotes need more picks like the desert needs more sun. The entire NHL knew the Leafs wanted to shed Ritchie’s salary, so they would have been well-served to use that leverage to ply a prospect away from the Leafs instead of another pick. Eventually, the Coyotes need to stop acquiring draft capital in favor of young players.

Ritchie will get a bigger opportunity in Arizona, and may be able to show more of what he showed in prior seasons. GM Bill Armstrong and his scouts must believe Ritchie is still capable of that kind of performance. 

In addition, the extra year on Ritchie’s deal means they will have one more player to pencil into their lineup card for 2022-23. The Coyotes only have seven roster players other than Ritchie signed beyond this season, so they have their work cut out for them. 

Maybe Armstrong’s plan is to start packaging all of these picks he has acquired. At some point, the Coyotes have to start solving a few of their own problems instead of other team’s problems.

All in all, not a bad deal for Arizona, just not one that really moves the needle for the franchise.

Gear’s Grade: B-