The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded Forward Nick Ritchie, and a conditional draft pick to the Arizona Coyotes for Forward Ryan Dzingel, and Ilya Lyubushkin. This trade comes after Lyubushkin was made a healthy scratch ahead of the Coyotes’ game against the LA Kings.
Leafs Trade Ritchie to Coyotes For Dzingel
TRADE: We’ve acquired forward Ryan Dzingel & defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin from Arizona in exchange for forward Nick Ritchie & choice of our third-round selection in ’23 or second-round selection in ’25. #LeafsForever
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 20, 2022
The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded struggling Forward Nick Ritchie, and a conditional draft pick to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Forward Ryan Dzingel and Defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin. The draft pick sent to Arizona is Toronto’s choice, as they can either send the Coyotes their 2023 3rd round pick, or their 2025 2nd round pick.
Ritchie has 9 points in 33 games this season, and is a -6. So far, this is one of the worst seasons in his career. Lyubushkin has spent the majority of his career in the KHL playing for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, before making his North American debut with the Coyotes in the 2018-2019 season. So far, Lyubushkin has comparable stats to Ritchie, potting 9 assists for 9 points and is a -6. Dzingel has 7 points this season and is only a -3.
The Leafs sit in 3rd in the Atlantic with a 32-13-3 record, while the Coyotes are dead last in the Central, with a 12-33-4 record.
What This Means For Both Teams
For the Coyotes, this is another somewhat safe move to further aid in rebuilding. giving up two valuable trade assets in order to take on a tam’s unwanted contract, and a future draft pick. Ritchie has had a down year but will look to turn it around in the desert.
For the Leafs, this is a smart move. They get rid of Ritchie’s $2.5 million contract and add a solid depth forward in Ryan Dzingel, who is only making $1.1 million. They also add another much-needed piece to their defense, a defensive-minded defenseman who is on a sub-million dollar contract, which is huge for the Leafs considering that they don’t have a whole lot of cap space.
