Analysis: Maple Leafs trade Roman Polak to San Jose

The teardown continues as the Toronto Maple Leafs trade Roman Polak and Nick Spaling to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for 2017 and 2018 second round draft picks. The two teams completed the trade this morning as they build in opposite directions.  

San Jose General Manager Doug Wilson sent Raffi Torres and two San Jose second round draft picks, in 2017 and 2018 respectively, to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defenseman Roman Polak and forward Nick Spaling. All players involved in the trade are slated to be free agents at the end of the season. While San Jose made the trade to prepare for a Stanley Cup playoff run, Toronto made theirs for with an eye towards the future.

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Maple Leafs trade Roman Polak

In Roman Polak, the Sharks are hoping to finally nail down their bottom pairing on defense, which has seen some iteration of Brenden Dillon, Matt Tennyson, Dylan DeMelo and Mirco Mueller throughout the season.  Polak brings with him a steady defensive presence, grit, and a right-handed shot.

With Polak being inserted into the final defensive pairing, Dylan DeMelo is the likely candidate for the seventh defenseman role.  DeMelo has performed well in his first prolonged exposure to the NHL including being second only to Brent Burns in CF% among San Jose defenseman.  Despite this, Brenden Dillon has more experience and is a left-handed match for the incoming right-handed shooting Polak, which Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer is keen on maintaining.  

Also heading to San Jose is forward Nick Spaling.  Spaling has proven to be a serviceable forward over his 400+ game NHL career.  He will join a crowded group fighting for the last three forward spots, but likely won’t put anyone out of a job.  Spaling currently sports a 38.9 Corsi For percentage (CF%), worse than frequent healthy scratch Mike Brown.

In Toronto, the draft pick cupboard is filling up.  The Maple Leafs continue to stockpile draft picks that could be used to sweeten future deals or increase their odds of drafting NHL players by simply drafting more players and seeing who pans out.  Stocking up on second, third and fourth round picks can be an effective rebuilding strategy.  Stephen Burtch looked at expected values of draft picks and said “Just try to remember that though not all draft picks are created equal, there’s still significant value in those mid- to late-round selections.”  Examining the last three entry draft results, high-level talent is often available later into the second round.  The Maple Leafs seemingly have picked up on this with six second round picks over the next three years. 

In addition to the two second round picks, the Leafs also acquired Raffi Torres.  Torres will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year and Toronto smartly left him in the AHL with the San Jose Barracuda.

There are two more key components of this trade, one for each team, to bear in mind as well.  For the San Jose, this trade will allow Mirco Mueller and Matt Tennyson to spend the remainder of the season developing on the ice for the San Jose Barracuda and not in the press box.  For Toronto, by shipping out two more NHL players, the Maple Leafs continue to do everything possible to maximize their odds for the first overall pick in the 2016 NHL entry draft whilst amassing additional assets for the future.