Imlach Division rivals deal

[nyrcrisfer]

Following a 3-1 loss to the Blues on Thursday night the Leafs GM stuck around his office at the arena to finalize a deal with Habs. Moving to Montreal are Jason Smith and Matt Cooke. Coming to Toronto are Mattias Ohlund and Mike York, along with a 2nd round pick and some cash. The Leafs get an upgrade on the blueline at the cost of a downgrade on the wing, apparently a trade off that made sense at this point.

The GM told reporters as he left the arena that a move just had to be made. "This hasn't been a good season for the Leafs and we're almost 1/4 through it so something had to be done. Smith and Cooke both played well this season but they made the deal work so they had to move on."

He added, "As solid as Jason Smith was for us he's no Mattias Ohlund. Ohlund can do everything well at both ends of the ice and he's got the endurance to do it for 25 minutes a night. We needed another guy like that on our blueline and that was the main reason we gave up two solid players to make the deal happen."

[MJK]

Good deal man.

[Goffie]

Nice deal!

[the_only_turek_fan]

I like this deal for the Leafs because of the pick. Still though, solid deal for both teams.

[Noops]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

I like this deal for the Leafs because of the pick. Still though, solid deal for both teams.

because of the pick???????

[Knut]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

I like this deal for the Leafs because of the pick. Still though, solid deal for both teams.

What will you give me for a 2nd rounder???

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Hesla

What will you give me for a 2nd rounder???

I'll give you Cory Cross.

[Beerfund]

The Canadiens also were happy with the deal, While we may have given up a bit on the blueline, we feel that we have provided a substantial boost up front. Cooke is having a great season and we feel he has the potential to increasein value over the years. York is a decent play making forward, but with vets like Federov, Alfredsson, St.Louis, Rolston, Reinprecht and Tkachuk, his opportunities were limited. York does not bring the same level of defensive effort as Mat Cooke does.
We gave up on the Blueline, however, our thinking was two fold. One we have the likes of Timonen, Jovanovski, Beauchemin and Tverdovsky as Offensive Dmen. We felt we wouldn't take much of a hit on the line by losing Matias's pressence. Smith will be able to fill in defensively, also he has come close to matching Ohlund's offensive production this year as well. The second reason was because of the UFA status of Timonen, Jovo and Ohlund. We knew it would be tough to sign all three this offseason. While we had productive talks with Mattias's agent, we understand his value and felt that Smith (also a free agent) would be a better fit both player and budget wise.
We wish Ohlund and York all the best in Toronto - except of course when they play us.