The Toronto Maple Leafs are reunited with a familiar figure as they acquired Ilya Lyubushkin via trade. He was originally acquired by Toronto back in 2021-22 mid-season as well, that time from the Arizona Coyotes. This time around he had been playing with the struggling Anaheim Ducks before the trade to the Big Smoke.
The #leafs are acquiring Ilya Lyubushkin at a cap hit of $687,500 with double retention — less than the league minimum salary. That leaves plenty of room for further moves before the March 8 trade deadline.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 1, 2024
The Anaheim Ducks Trade Defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin
The details of the Ilya Lyubushkin trade themselves are a bit complicated. The Carolina Hurricanes are also involved in the trade. Lyubushkin who is set to become a UFA in the offseason currently makes $2.75M. Of that, Anaheim will pay 50%, and Carolina will take on 25%. Moreover, in terms of pieces, the Ducks picked up a 2025 third-round pick in the deal. Also, the Canes ended up with a 2024 sixth-round draft choice. And that’s not all, as Toronto was able to have prospect Kirill Slepets added in from Carolina. Slepets is a winger currently playing overseas who had 19 points in 53 games.
A Look at Lyubushkin’s Stats
For Lyubushkin in 2023-24, it might be a result of playing on a bad team, but he is having a bad season statistically. So far he only has four assists through 55 games played. Also, he has a Point Share of 0.4, very indicative of a player not carrying their required load in the lineup. Hopefully, Lyubushkin can look to regain his previous form from his best season, which was 2021-22. He had 15 points that year and was playing around 17 and a half minutes a night. His career ice time is sub 16 minutes. Maybe being back in Toronto, where he had six points in 31 games, plus seven playoff games, will get him back on track.
What Does This Mean for Toronto
This trade is an important one for the Maple Leafs. They didn’t have a regular right-shot defenceman other than Timothy Liljegren, so Lyubushkin will help balance out their alignment. Also, Liljregren and Mark Giordano have missed time recently, so there is uncertainty in their short-term availability. That’s why the trade helps to bring in some depth if nothing else, and also General Manager Brad Treliving was able to do so on a tight budget.
Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
