Dave Bolland goes from scoring the Stanley Cup winning goal to being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in six days. This is a move that should not have surprised anyone. The Leafs gave up their 2nd and 4th round picks in this year’s draft and a 4th round pick in next year’s draft as well. I was hard on Bolland all season long but I have been a big fan of his. His battles versus the Sedins in the 2010 and 2011 playoffs were fantastic. He was a big part of the 2010 team but has been a shell of his former self the last two seasons. He has been injured a lot and when he has been on the ice he was not effective for a majority of that time. He will add a ton of experience and grit to an up and coming Toronto team and gets to play in his hometown. This move opens the door for Brandon Pirri to make the full time jump to the NHL.
Michael Frolik was such a joy to watch on the Hawks 4th line and penalty kill unit. Shortly after moving Bolland, Stan Bowman sent Taters to the Winnipeg Jets for a 3rd and 5th round pick in Sunday’s draft. Frolik was a beast defensively but his $2.33 million cap hit made him expendable. This frees up another roster spot for the likes of Jeremy Morin or Ben Smith to fill.
Stan Bowman turned two thirds of his 4th line in to five draft picks while saving $5.7 million on next year’s salary cap. Not too shabby if you ask me. If trading Bolland and Frolik means being able to re-sign Marcus Kruger, Nick Leddy and Bryan Bickell than I am all for it.