Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Bryan McCabe For Mike Van Ryn

Today the Toronto Maple Leafs announced they are parting ways with their veteran defenseman, Bryan McCabe. The Maple Leafs dealt McCabe and a 4th round selection in the 2010 draft, to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Mike Van Ryn. This doesn't come as a big surprise, as rumors of this deal had already begun to surface in August (See my previous post on the McCabe trade). Most analysts have been saying this trade would occur after the Maple Leafs were due to pay McCabe a $2 million bonus on September 1st. The rumors proved to be true, as Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher made the trade official today. However, what may be seen as a bit of a surprise to Maple Leafs fans, is the 4th round selection that was sent to Florida along with McCabe.

While a 4th round pick might not seem like much to give up, Leafs fans might be disappointed in losing yet another draft pick, during a time in which their team is in need of a rebuild. Not to mention the high returns that other teams have received recently in trades involving their veteran defensemen. Regardless, the Toronto Maple Leafs have still succeeded in shedding a large part of their salary. Cliff Fletcher appears to have delivered on his promise to bring change to the Maple Leafs.

A Look At The Maple Leafs Newest Defenseman

As of today, Mike Van Ryn is the newest member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has spent the last 4 seasons with the Panthers, after beginning his NHL career with the St. Louis Blues. He is known as a stay at home defenseman, and while he is not as offensively gifted as McCabe, he is usually consistent in his own end. One of the biggest complaints Toronto Maple Leafs fans had of McCabe, was his poor defensive play in his own end, and his knack for turning over the puck. The acquisition of Van Ryn to replace him, should therefore come as welcome news for most Maple Leafs fans, despite having to give up another draft selection. In fact, when combined with other moves that have been made so far on the Maple Leafs blue line, it would appear that Leafs management is attempting to build a defense corps that focuses on preventing goals first, and scoring points second. McCabe was always good at scoring points, but Leafs fans can expect Van Ryn to be better on the defensive side of the puck.

The biggest advantage for the Leafs in acquiring Van Ryn however, is in the space saved in the salary cap. Van Ryn's cap hit against the Maple Leafs will be $2.9 million a year for 2 seasons, whereas McCabe would have taken up a whopping $5.75 million a year for 3 seasons. This essentially gives the Maple Leafs plenty of room to make more roster moves before the start of the season, should they choose to do so. This means that the cap space is now available for the Leafs to re-sign their former captain, Mats Sundin, should he decide to continue playing for Toronto.

However, one thing that the Toronto Maple Leafs should be a bit concerned about in this trade, is the injured wrist that Mike Van Ryn sustained last year, resulting in him only playing 20 games all season. The injury was bad enough to require surgery, and whether or not he has fully recovered from that remains to be seen. Van Ryn does not have a history of being injury prone however, and played nearly every game in the 3 seasons prior to injuring his wrist. So while this move may be a bit of a gamble, I can still see it paying off for the Maple Leafs defensive game. If Mike Van Ryn can stay healthy, he will be the type of stay at home defender Ron Wilson likes to coach, and should be a perfect fit to the new look on the Toronto Maple Leafs defense.