Canucks acquire veteran forward from Maple Leafs

The Vancouver Canucks have acquired forward Sam Lafferty, sending a 2024 fifth-round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in return.

It appears as though there was a somewhat competitive market to secure Lafferty’s services, as The Athletic’s James Mirtle reports that the Maple Leafs “had multiple offers for Lafferty”.

While Lafferty, 28, isn’t the flashiest player, it’s not difficult to see why teams would be eager to surrender late-round picks to acquire him. The 28-year-old is playing on an affordable $1.15M cap hit through the end of the season, meaning there’s no significant long-term commitment necessary for the Canucks.

Instead, they’ll be able to add a quality bottom-six forward for the rest of the season at a decently affordable price. Lafferty is versatile, able to play both on the wings and at center, and plays a sound defensive game. He can help the Canucks on their penalty kill and chip in some offense once in a while, as he did last season when he scored 12 goals and 27 points.

Are there better players for a team to staff on its fourth line and penalty kill? Absolutely. But at the price of a fifth-round pick, Vancouver has unquestionably improved its roster. For Toronto, this deal shaves a few hundred thousand dollars off their salary cap, assuming they sign PTO invitee Noah Gregor to a league-minimum contract.

This signing also indicates that 19-year-old 2022 second-rounder Fraser Minten could begin the season on Toronto’s NHL roster. Minten scored 67 points in 57 games last season for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers and has by all accounts had a strong preseason and training camp.