While they reside in different conferences and rarely compete for two points, the Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks have met at the trade table a number of times over the past number of seasons.
Some of the moves were simple, involving picks and players, others included some household names that would stick with their respective teams for some time. With that in mind, here’s a look at the five most recent deals between the Maple Leafs and Sharks.
Fehr-ly Good Trade?
The most recent trade came back on Feb. 20, 2018, when the Maple Leafs moved forward Eric Fehr in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2020.
Fehr finished the season with the Sharks tallying four points and a plus-seven rating in 14 games – appearing in 10 postseason games for the team. Following the season, however, Fehr signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Wild where he nine points in 29 games so far this season.
As for the pick the 2020 pick, it’ll be a wait-and-see for the Maple Leafs to see what they really get out of this deal.
Optimus Reim
Jump back to Feb. 27, 2016. The Maple Leafs acquired Ben Smith, Alex Stalock and a third-round pick in 2018 from the Sharks in exchange for goaltender James Reimer and forward Jeremy Morin.
Smith tallied two goals and six points through 16 games to finish the year with the Maple Leafs before he signed as a free agent with the Colorado Avalanche. He returned to the Leafs when they claimed him off waivers in 2016-17 and added another four points in 36 games in blue and white. He most recently signed with Adler Mannheim in Germany in June 2018.
Stalock played just three games for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies before he signed with the Wild for the 2016-17 season – where he’s played ever since. As for the pick, the Maple Leafs used the 83rd overall pick in 2018 to take Riley Stotts. Stotts, who started his junior career with the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos, had 41 points in 47 games with the Calgary Hitmen before he was drafted by the Maple Leafs.
Morin spent time in the AHL following the trade, but never saw the NHL with the Sharks.
And Reimer? The long-time Maple Leafs goaltender played just eight games for the Sharks following the trade. He finished with a 6-2-0 record, a .938 save percentage and a 1.62 goals against average to go along with three shutouts. Following that season, he signed as a free agent with the Florida Panthers where he continues to play.
Trading For Torres
Five days before the Reimer deal, the Maple Leafs and Sharks were involved in another trade. Toronto acquired rugged forward Raffi Torres along with a second-round pick in 2017 and a second-round pick in 2018 in exchange for defenceman Roman Polak and forward Nick Spaling.
Spaling played 23 games for the Sharks to finish the year, recording two goals and six points, before playing 24 playoff games for San Jose with one assist. Following the year, he left for Switzerland where he joined Geneve Servette for a couple seasons.
Related: Maple Leafs Recent Dealings With the Penguins
As for Polak he tallied three assists over 24 games to finish the year before re-signing with the Maple Leafs for another two seasons. He notched another 23 points in 129 regular season games and was a physical force on the Leafs blue line from 2016 to 2018 before he joined the Dallas Stars for the 2018-19 campaign.
On the Maple Leafs’ side, Torres never played a single game for the team following the move. As for the picks, the Maple Leafs traded the 2017 second-rounder to the Anaheim Ducks in the Frederik Andersen deal in June 2016 – which the Ducks used to take Maxime Comtois 50th overall. The Maple Leafs kept the 2018 pick and used it to take defenceman Sean Durzi 52nd overall following a season that saw him record 49 points in 40 games for the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack.
Taking On Toskala
Before that, you have to go back to Jun. 22, 2007, when the Maple Leafs moved three picks to the Sharks to acquire goaltender Vesa Toskala and forward Mark Bell.
Toskala played 145 regular season games for the Maple Leafs over three seasons, collecting a 62-54-20 record over that span. He finished with a .894 save percentage and a 3.08 goals against average with five shutouts. But he never saw any playoff action during his tenure in Toronto.
As for Bell, he tallied 10 points in 35 games for the Maple Leafs in 2007-08 before spending some time in the AHL and Switzerland.
As for the picks, the Sharks moved both the 2007 first-round pick and 2007 second-round pick to the St. Louis Blues who took Lars Eller 13th overall and Aaron Palushaj 44th overall, while landing Logan Couture ninth overall in 2007.
The Sharks also traded the 2009 fourth-round pick to the Nashville Predators – who used it to take Craig Smith 98th overall – in a deal that landed them Harri Sateri with the 106th overall pick in 2008.
Trading the Boyes for Nolan
The fifth most recent trade between these two teams happened on Mar. 5, 2003, when the Maple Leafs acquired Owen Nolan in exchange for Brad Boyes, Alyn McCauley and a first-round pick in 2003.
Nolan played 79 regular season games for the Maple Leafs with 26 goals and 60 points to show for it while averaging roughly 17 minutes of ice-time over two seasons. He went on to play for the Coyotes, Flames and Wild before retiring in 2012.
As for what the Sharks got out of the deal, Boyes played a single game for the Sharks in 2003-04, but didn’t really get an NHL opportunity until he joined the Bruins for the 2005-06 season when he tallied 69 points in 82 games.
McCauley scored 35 goals and 83 points in 174 regular season games for the Sharks over parts of three seasons and finished third in Selke voting in 2003-04. While the Sharks would eventually trade the first-round pick in 2003 and the Bruins would use it to take Mark Stuart 21st overall.
With those trades in mind, was there any clear winners or losers? Be sure to have your say by leaving your thoughts in the comment section below, or tune in next time when we look at the five most recent trades between the Maple Leafs and the St. Louis Blues.