Toronto Maple Leafs trade Patrick Marleau to Hurricanes to free up cap space

Ahead of the second day of the 2019 NHL Draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs moved veteran winger Patrick Marleau to the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded forward Patrick Marleau to the Carolina Hurricanes, the team announced Saturday.

Toronto also gave up conditional first- and seventh-round picks in the 2020 Draft. The Leafs will be receiving a 2020 sixth-rounder from the ‘Canes.

The Leafs’ first-rounder is top-10 protected. Carolina would receive Toronto’s first in 2021 in the case that they pick in the top 10 next June.

Marleau waived his no-movement clause in order to go to Carolina. The team intends to buy out the veteran, who would like to return to the San Jose Sharks, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.

The 39-year-old took to social media to thank the Maple Leafs, Leafs Nation, as well as adopted sons Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

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Frankly, the deal isn’t great for Toronto. They already missed out on drafting in the first round this year, but they actually received a solid player in Jake Muzzin. This trade forced Kyle Dubas to give up a premium asset in order to dump salary.

But we knew that the third year of the deal was going to be an issue. The third year was what got Marleau to come over and play for the Leafs in the first place. In his first season, Marleau was great for the Leafs, scoring 27 goals and finishing the year with 47 points in 82 games.

This year, however, Marleau found it more difficult to produce at a good pace. He finished with just 37 points, his lowest total in an 82-game campaign since his rookie year in 1997-98.

Marleau currently sits fifth in all-time games played with 1,657. He also has an ironman streak of 788 consecutive games played, which is the sixth-best total in NHL history.

Thank you, Patrick, for two great seasons of service to the Maple Leafs. It was a pleasure to watch one of the greats suit up in blue and white.