The Overlooked Kyle Dubas Trade That Could Come Back to Haunt the Leafs

When Kyle Dubas left the Toronto Maple Leafs in the summer of 2023, it was a move that signalled the end of the analytics era, and back into an old school mentality with Brad Treliving instilled as new GM, and a regime change soon followed.

He made some very good moves in his time with the team, including a very busy 2023 Deadline that saw him acquire the likes of Luke Schenn, Ryan O'Reilly, Noel Acciari, and Jake McCabe.

While only McCabe has stuck around, he's a vital part of Toronto's team, and earned himself a big payday too.

But he also made some pretty awful ones too. Trading Nazem Kadri for spare parts, trading away Mason Marchment for Denis Malgin, and letting Jared McCann walk in the expansion draft are just some of the pretty egregious ones, though one sticks out like a sore thumb.

Toronto traded away defensive youngster Rasmus Sandin to the Washington Capitals for defenseman Erik Gustafsson as well as a first-round pick. He is a stay-at-home NHL-ready defender who was expected to make an impact.

But he only had had four assists in nine games for Toronto, and only one playoff point in two games before heading elsewhere in free agency.

Meanwhile, Sandin has grown into one of the best defensemen in the league, and a staple in the Capitals lineup for years to come.

With Toronto having such an aging defensive group, and relying on signings like Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Philippe Myers to anchor the back end, Sandin would have been the perfect fit as Toronto's #1 option, giving Morgan Rielly a bit of a pause and allow him to be in less dangerous situations.

Coming into his own this season, Sandin has 26 points in 68 games (4G, 22A) but is a plus-21, with 100 blocks and 79 hits to only 12 PIM.

But it's back to seasons with 20+ points and has a staggering plus-34 rating difference from last year to now, showing he's clearly figuring it out.

His possession numbers are great, his team is better with him on the ice, and he's good for 1.2 points per game this season and his team is expected to score 3.5 goals while he's on the ice opposed to opponents expected only 2.5 goals for.

He's the type of two-way player Toronto needs in their lineup, and he's only 25, which makes it even worse. He's still a few years from his prime, and if he's growing at this rate; he could become one the NHL's elite in very short order.

Dubas swung for the fences during the deadline, and while he acquired some pretty solid pieces, letting such a high upside prospect go is a pretty bad look for the former GM.

At least the team got Easton Cowan out of the whole deal at the end of the day.