While the rivalry between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New Jersey Devils may not be what it used to – following the Tie Domi elbow on Scott Niedermayer – there has been tension between the two clubs in the past.
Still, that hasn’t stopped the two organizations from engaging in trade talks from time to time with many instances actually culminating in trades. While we had to go back to 1997 to find the fifth most recent deal between the Maple Leafs and Devils, there have been a number of them over the past 21 years.
With that, here’s a look at the five most recent deals between the two clubs.
From Toronto With Loov
The last time the Devils and Maple Leafs pulled the trigger on a deal was back on Feb. 18, 2017. The Leafs acquired Sergey Kalinin in exchange for Viktor Loov.
Kalinin – who had played 121 games for the Devils – finished the year with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies picking up four points in 19 games. He joined St. Petersburg SKA in the KHL for the 2017-18 season.
Loov also didn’t suit up for his new club. Instead, he’s spent time with the Albany Devils, the Binghamton Devils and the Iowa Wild, most recently, in the AHL.
Suiting Up Steckel
From there, we go back to Oct. 4, 2011, when the Maple Leafs acquired David Steckel from the Devils for a 2012 fourth-round pick.
Steckel played 89 games for the Maple Leafs, picking up 14 points in just under 12 minutes of ice-time per game over parts of two seasons. While he didn’t see much ice-time, he did have a face-off percentage of 57.3 which was one of the main reasons he was brought in in the first place.
As for the fourth-round pick, the Devils used it to draft Ben Thomson 96th overall in 2012. While he’s spent the majority of his pro career in the AHL, he did play three games for the Devils in 2016-17 where he had four penalty minutes and was a minus-four in just under 11 minutes of ice-time per game.
Picking the Other Carrick
The Devils and Maple Leafs also engaged in a trade on Mar. 3, 2010, when the Leafs handed over Martin Skoula for a fifth-round pick in 2010.
Skoula, who never suited up for the Leafs, played in 19 games for the Devils with three assists to show for it, before signing with Omsk in the KHL on June 23, 2010.
The Maple Leafs used the fifth-round pick to select Sam Carrick 144th overall in 2010. Carrick played a total of 19 games for the Leafs over two seasons with a goal and an assist to show for it. Since the 2015-16 season, he’s spent his time in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs and San Diego Gulls.
Finding the Right Klee
Before that, it was a trade on Mar. 8, 2006, that saw the Leafs move defenceman Ken Klee in exchange for Aleksander Suglobov.
Klee played 18 games for the Devils to close out the 2005-06 season averaging just over 15 minutes per game, before signing as a free agent with Colorado in the offseason.
As for Suglobov, he played 16 games for the Leafs over parts of two seasons. While he only average about eight minutes per game during his Maple Leafs’ career, he still managed to rack up a minus-seven rating to go along with four penalty minutes.
Getting Ready for the Early 2000s
Finally, back on Feb. 25, 1997, the Maple Leafs and Devils engaged in possibly the most significant trade of their most recent dealings. The trade included five players and one pick as the Leafs acquired Jason Smith, Steve Sullivan and the rights to Alyn McCauley for Dave Ellett, Doug Gilmour and a third-round pick in 1999.
Smith would go on to play 162 games for the Maple Leafs over three seasons cashing in on the penalty minutes (with 156) and putting up 34 points over that span.
Sullivan played in 154 regular season games in blue and white with 35 goals and 85 points over parts of four seasons. He added three goals and six points in 13 postseason games
with the Maple Leafs before the Blackhawks claimed him on waivers from the Leafs.
McCauley had the longest stint in Toronto, playing 304 regular season games and posting 82 points over that span. He saw 35 games of postseason action with the Maple Leafs putting up 15 points – all of which came in 20 games during the 2001-02 playoff run.
For the Devils, Ellett played just 20 games to close out the year with the Devils. He scored two goals and seven points, adding three points in 10 postseason games before signing with Boston in the offseason.
Gilmour spent parts of two seasons with the Devils talking 75 points in 83 games and 11 points in 16 playoff games before he signed with the Blackhawks in the summer of 1998.
As for the pick, the Devils used it to take Andre Lakos with the 95th overall pick in 1999, but Lakos never cracked the NHL – playing a number of years in the AHL and most recently with Bad Toelz EC of the DEL-2.
While most of these trades were relatively insignificant, did either team come out on top? Be sure to have your say by leaving your thoughts in the comments below and tune in next time when we look closer at the five most recent deals between the Maple Leafs and the New York Islanders.