Toronto Maple Leafs: Grading Their Moves (and Non-Moves) at the Deadline

This year's NHL trade deadline has come and gone, and once again, the Toronto Maple Leafs were very quiet. Unable to land a top-six forward or help in goal, should GM Brian Burke be criticized for his lack of activity?

The answer to this question will be determined by one factor—whether or not the Leafs make the playoffs.

In the meantime, it is fair to partially assess Toronto's deadline activity by grading the Leafs' moves and non-moves.

Please feel free to comment and join the conversation.

Ashton-Aulie Trade: B

Brian Burke's biggest move was the acquisition of Carter Ashton from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Keith Aulie.

Ashton is a native of Winnipeg, Manitoba and was was selected 29th overall in the 2009 NHL entry draft.

This season, as a member of the AHL Norfolk Admirals, he has tallied 19 goals and 16 assists.

Ashton is a big-bodied forward, capable of keeping up with the best skaters, and has finishing skills with the puck. He doesn't use his 6'3", 215-pound frame to his full advantage, but he's known for his rough nose around the net.

In Aulie, the Leafs gave up a quality young defenceman with a bright future in the NHL.

Toward the end of last season, Aulie played really well with Dion Phaneuf and even formed Toronto's shut-down pair. However, with the offseason acquisitions of John Michael Liles and Cody Franson, as well as the breakout success of Jake Gardiner, Aulie has been unable to find a full-time job with the big club this season.

With significant defensive depth on the Toronto Marlies as well, Aulie became expendable in the minds of Leafs management.

Interestingly, Aulie was drafted 116th overall in the fourth round in 2007 and has been improving ever since. Ashton, on the other hand, has had his share of struggles trying to live up to the hype of being a first-round selection.

While Leafs Nation is hoping that this trend quickly reverses itself, Burke deserves credit for acquiring a piece that addresses an organizational need.

Finally, keep in mind that Aulie was originally brought to Toronto in the deal with Phaneuf, which now looks like this: Niklas Hagman, Ian White, Matt Stajan and Jamal Mayers for Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom and Carter Ashton (former 1st-rounder).

Fraser-Mitchell Trade: A

When the Leafs shipped out Keith Aulie to land Carter Ashton, they were addressing their lack of size up front with the future in mind. In doing so, they were also able to add a significant piece to the current farm system.

Under coach Dallas Eakins, the Toronto Marlies currently sit atop the North Division in the AHL, having won 31 of their 56 games.

Ashton will be able to step in immediately and play alongside the likes of Joe Colborne and Nazem Kadri.

Consequently, Burke had an extra body from the Marlies' forward group to pedal, and he did so quickly to fill the void left by Aulie's departure. In a minor deal, Burke was able to trade forward Dale Mitchell to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenceman Mark Fraser.

Granted, Fraser is not a young prospect like Aulie, but he is a big, experienced defenceman.

Fraser has played the majority of his season this year with the Anaheim Ducks' AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch, but he also has over 100 NHL games under his belt, having played most of those with the New Jersey Devils. 

While the Marlies will miss the tough-style play of Mitchell, they will certainly enjoy the veteran presence of Fraser.

Good on Burke for keeping the Marlies in the fold as best he can.

Keeping Mikhail Grabovski: B-

TSN's Darren Dreger reported that the Leafs had received as many as four offers that would have seen them receive four first-round draft picks on deadline day.

With the playoffs in mind, management decided to stand pat on those offers, opting to stay the course with the team's current roster instead.

A significant part of that roster includes the trio of Mikhail Grabovski, Clarke MacArthur and Nikolai Kulemin, all of whom found a great deal of success playing together last season, arguably as Toronto's No. 1 unit.

This season has not be as kind to the three, and as a result, trade speculation has been high.

Grabovski, in particular, is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. For this reason, Burke has attempted to re-sign him to an extension, but he's been unable to do so. 

While Leafs fans will be happy if their team squeaks into the playoffs with the help of Grabovski, they'll be equally unhappy if he decides to test the free-agent waters elsewhere come July 1, thus having lost the chance to receive any value in return for his services.

Avoiding Rick Nash, for Now: A

The biggest deadline bust this year was the Rick Nash trade that never happened. The asking price was simply too high, so good on Burke for avoiding what could have been a highly controversial trade.

Burke sets his prices well in advance of deadline day to avoid overpaying and under-receiving in terms of player value.

If Nash was going to be a member of the Leafs, Toronto would have practically had to mortgage the future, trading a package that would have started with the likes of Jake Gardiner, Nazem Kadri and Joe Colborne.

Nash wants out, so it's simply a matter of time. He also has a no-movement clause, which means he can hand-pick his next destination.

Should the Brampton, Ontario native want to play close the home, the Leafs still have a great chance to acquire his services for a reasonable price.

While it would have been great to have Nash in the fold for a playoff run, Leafs Nation has to be happy that their GM didn't overpay. Good on Burke for keeping the shelf stocked.

Overall: B

Rest assured, if there were deals to be had that didn't dismantle much of the organizational depth that Brian Burke has worked hard to put into place during his tenure as GM in Toronto, those deals would have been made at the deadline.

Because they weren't, fans can safely assume that the prices were too high, and the risk/reward factor was too great.

In his post-deadline remarks to the media, Burke emphatically stated that he is not willing to trade away the future of his hockey club for a chance to make the playoffs. This is old news to Leafs fans, but it's difficult to disagree with.

By a similar token, is it not the job of the GM to find a deal that benefits his team by addition without subtraction?

You may be very glad that Burke decided to hold off on trading for Nash, given the ridiculous price tag that was suggested, but after promising that his team would end the current six-year playoff drought, Burke failed to acquire a big-bodied forward, or help in goal.

Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray was able to land goalie prospect Ben Bishop for a second-round pick. Bishop, who is regard by many around hockey circles as the best goalie not currently playing in the NHL, may not have been the answer in goal for Toronto right now, but he surely may have been an option for the future.

You can disagree with my assessment of Bishop, but he is just one example. Cody Hodgson landing in Buffalo is another. What you cannot argue against is the fact that Burke has promised big things from his current club, and should the Leafs fail to make the playoffs, he may have no one to blame but himself.

Opportunity lost? Only time will tell.