Separated by conferences with no real tension between them, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Nashville Predators have found ways of coming together at the trade table over the years.
While there’s been no blockbuster deal by any means, there have been a couple trades that have benefitted both clubs. With that in mind, here’s a look at the five most recent transactions between the Maple Leafs and Predators.
Monitoring a Minor Deal
The most recent trade between these two clubs came back on July 12, 2015, when the Maple Leafs acquired Taylor Beck from the Preds in exchange for Jamie Devane.
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Beck never suited up for the Leafs and was actually used in another trade before the season in which the Maple Leafs sent him and four other players to the New York Islanders for Michael Grabner. He played seven games over the next three seasons with the Islanders, Oilers and Rangers before joining the KHL this past season.
As for Devane, he also never suited up for the Predators. Instead, he remained in the AHL where he played with the Ontario Reign most recently in 2017-18.
You Must Be Jokinen
The Maple Leafs and Preds engaged in another trade in 2015 – on Feb. 15. In it, Toronto acquired Olli Jokinen, Brendan Leipsic and a first-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft in exchange for Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli.
Jokinen played just six games for the Leafs – collecting one assist before they moved him again to the St. Louis Blues for the remainder of the year.
Leipsic also only played six games for the Leafs in 2015-16, but he raked in one goal and three points over that span. He was eventually selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft where he played 44 games this past season.
As for the pick, the Maple Leafs traded the 24th overall selection in 2015 to Philadelphia (who used it to draft Travis Konecny) as they moved down to 29th and picked up a 2015 second-rounder as well. The Leafs then moved the 29th pick to Columbus who took Gabriel Carlsson while Toronto used their three picks from those two trades to grab Jeremy Bracco, Travis Dermott and Martins Dsierkals respectively.
On the other side, Franson played 23 games in his second stint with the Predators and collected a goal and three assists, while Santorelli picked up four points of his own in 22 games with Nashville.
Cracking the Secret Cody
Before the Leafs traded Franson to the Predators in 2015, they actually acquired him from Nashville on July 3, 2011. Along with Franson, the Maple Leafs picked up Matthew Lombardi and a 2013 conditional fourth-round pick in exchange for Brett Lebda, Robert Slaney and a 2013 conditional fourth-round pick.
Franson went on to play 236 games with the Maple Leafs over parts of four seasons. He scored 20 goals and 115 points over that span, but played for the team during some dark years when it came to playoffs. He saw just six games of postseason action with the Leafs tallying three goals and three assists over that span.
As for Lombardi, he played 62 games for the Maple Leafs in 2011-12 with eight goals and 18 points while averaging just over 13:30 of ice-time per game.
The pick went to the Predators as the condition was on whether or not Lombardi would play 60 or more games for the Maple Leafs. However, the Preds traded the pick to the Blues (who drafted Zachary Pochiro 112th overall) and grabbed two picks in return.
Lebda didn’t suit up for the Preds and eventually signed as a free agent with he Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 19, 2012. Slaney played a number of years in the AHL and ECHL, but he also never made the jump to the NHL.
They Got a Perrott?
Before 2011, you have to go all the way back to Dec. 31, 2002, to find the last deal between the Maple Leafs and the Predators. It was then that the Leafs acquired enforcer Nathan Perrott in exchange for Bob Wren.
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Perrott would play just 43 games for the Maple Leafs, collecting a goal and two assists to go along with 118 penalty minutes. After a year with the Dallas Stars, he’d go on to play in the AHL, LNAH, KHL and CHL.
As for Wren, he never suited up for the Predators and eventually went on to play overseas following the 2002-03 season.
Bye, Bye Tie?
Finally, the fifth most recent deal came back on Jun. 30, 2002, when the Maple Leafs traded away the rights to fan favourite Tie Domi for an eighth-round pick in 2003.
The Maple Leafs drafted Shaun Landolt who never touched the NHL and actually went on to re-sign Domi on July 14, 2002, allowing him to play another three seasons in blue and white. He would also go on to have his best season offensively in 2002-03, scoring 15 goals and 29 points in 79 games.
Now that you’ve seen them, did either team come out on top of any of these deals? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below and tune in next time when we take a look at the five most recent trades between the Maple Leafs and the New Jersey Devils.