Canucks Choose Sam Lafferty Over A 5th Round Draft Pick
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By Doug Hirdle
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Summary
- Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs announced an agreement exchange on 08 Oct
- Canucks have acquired Maple Leafs forward Sam Lafferty
- The Maple Leafs have been given a 5th round draft pick in exchange
The Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs made an agreement behind the scenes which was then made public to NHL fans on 08 Oct. The Canucks decided to give the Maple Leafs their 5th round draft pick in 2024 in exchange for acquiring forward Sam Lafferty.
Lafferty Will Now Be Part Of Vancouver Canucks
Lafferty was acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs last season from the Blackhawks during a trade deadline. The 28 year old signed a two year contract with the Maple Leafs and ended up playing just 28 games last season and will not finish out his contract with the Maple Leafs.
The Leafs decided to trade forward Lafferty with one year left on his contract that has a $1.15 million cap. The Leafs decided to give up Lafferty as it will give the team more financial resources and also a spot on the roster.
With Lafferty no longer on the roster, the Maple Leafs will now be able to go after Noah Gregor who is in professional try out mode currently.
The 25 year old Gregor spent last season with the San Jose Sharks and did pretty well scoring 10 goals in 57 games with 7 assists. The Maple Leafs under new their new GM Brad Treliving have also made a number of other changes which includes placing waives on multiple players such as forwards Dylan Gambrell and Kyle Clifford, defencemen William Lagesson, Maxime Lajoie, Simon Benoit and goalkeeper Martin Jones.
Vancouver Will Strengthen Team With Draft Choices
The Vancouver Canucks were happy to give up their 5th round draft pick for Lafferty. Canucks GM Patrick Allvin preferred to add more depth to their squad ahead of the new season and was happy to close the deal with the Maple Leafs before the waiver wire on 08 Oct.
In a statement, Allvin said
As we work towards becoming a tougher team to play against, Sam will add some grit and sandpaper to our lineup. We also like the way he skates and can back players off with his speed. He is a good addition to our forward group and has shown he can also use his speed effectively in a penalty-killing role.
Will the Canucks regret their decision, can they make it to the Stanley Cup Finals? Checkout the latest odds right here.
