Revisiting the Maple Leafs’ Trade for Vesa Toskala From the Sharks
On June 22, 2007, the Toronto Maple Leafs made a move to bolster their goaltending situation by acquiring Vesa Toskala from the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks received a conditional first-round pick (Lars Eller) and a second-round pick (Aaron Palushaj) and a fourth-round pick (Craig Smith) in the 2009 NHL Draft. In return, the Maple Leafs received the aforementioned Toskala and veteran forward Mark Bell. Trade Backstory At the time of the trade, the Maple Leafs had been in a prolonged goaltending carousel. Since the retirement of Ed Belfour after the 2006-07 season, Toronto used a mix of Andrew Raycroft,…