Why the Brandon Montour to Toronto speculation makes no sense

Pierre Lebrun: Certainly, I know the Leafs, if they do something, it should be on the back end, and it will be something that you’ll see the impact at training camp next year, not just for this “run”. They’re going to keep their long-term view, and a young player like that would certainly fit. Now, as of last week, I hadn’t heard of the Leafs really knocking on Anaheim’s door too loudly yet, but as you mentioned, all the teams I know will be calling Anaheim over the next three weeks here. The Ducks are loaded up and down on d(efence), they can’t protect them all come June, though that’s something that Bob Murray can address in the offseason, he doesn’t have to address it now. 

The Ducks have their window open, they want to win, they want another top six forward, so you know what the price is if not more, and it’s Montour or Theodore that I think are potentially available, one or the other. But for a high price.

Gord Miller: But you’re getting into the Fowler, Lindholm, Vatanen, that group, right? You’re talking more about Theodore-

Lebrun: I think it’s more the kids, and certainly in terms of Fowler, Gord, I think he’s completely off the table. I think the Ducks would like to sign him to an extension this summer, one year out, he’s been their best defenceman this year. They just signed Lindholm, Vatanen’s on a cap-friendly deal. I think it would make more sense for them to see if someone bites hard on one of the kids, but believe me, I don’t think the idea from Anaheim is “we are dealing one of these kids”. I think the question is, is someone going to blink? And there’s no question to me, I think Tampa Bay would be keeping an eye on that, even with their inherent short term and long term D on the blue line. The Winnipeg Jets are a team to keep an eye on, if not with those kids, somewhere else. They need to augment their blueline moving forward too. 

This is why it’s good to be Bob Murray and the Anaheim Ducks. There are few teams that can sit on a pile of depth at D, and you look at all the teams that are absolutely hurting there, and are desperate to augment.

Patrick O’Sullivan: Just imagine if they had [Simon] Despres, the guy hasn’t played, he’s hurt, he’s injured. That would be another guy that you’d have on the list.

Lebrun: I would say that, Patrick, if they had a healthy Simon Despres, they would’ve traded a defenceman by now. Because they wouldn’t have been cap compliant, and they had problems entering the year after signing Lindholm. As it is, their guys are going up and down to San Diego. By the way, what a great place to play minor league hockey. But if Despres was a healthy player this year, something would’ve, there probably would’ve been a move back in September, October, because the Ducks wouldn’t have been under the cap. 

Andi Petrillo: I know this is hard to predict, because sometimes we get shocked when we see a trade and we’re like “That guy got *that* much for that player?” but when you’re saying that the price can be high for a Theodore or a Montour, what realistically could be the asking price? And, if we kind of narrow it down, because this is Leafs Lunch, if we were the Leafs, what realistically could the Leafs offer up Anaheim? What is the asking price?

Lebrun: As Gord knows, the price varies from organization to organization, because the Ducks would view the assets differently from team to team. But certainly, when it comes to the Leafs, they’re deep up front. You know, is JVR++ going to get them Brandon Montour? I don’t think so. But I could be wrong. I think we know the name that interest them the mo-

O’Sullivan: Nylander would!

Lebrun: Yes. But I don’t know if [the Leafs] want to move him. It might be too early in the process to make that call. Maybe they wait until the offseason. I don’t know. 

Miller: But Pierre, here’s the thing. People rip on Edmonton for trading Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson. But the fact is, the Oilers had a surplus of forwards and needed a defenceman. Now, maybe evaluating straight up, one for one, is Taylor Hall better than Adam Larsson? Yeah, probably. But the Oilers needed a defenceman, they didn’t want PK Subban, and so the price you pay is Taylor Hall. I’m convinced they would make that deal again. I’m sure they would. Because Larsson was something they needed, and Hall was something they already had.

Lebrun: They have zero, zero buyer’s remorse on that deal Gord, to your point. Larsson’s been a steady presence, which they needed, and the key part of that deal that gets glossed over all the time? The controllable nature of that cap-friendly deal that Adam Larsson has. That was huge. If Brandon Montour is traded, and again, he may not be, but if he is, he may end up fetching more than Kevin Shattenkirk at the deadline. People are going to say “what?”, but because Kevin Shattenkirk is a UFA July 1st, he’s a rental, you’re borrowing a guy for three months. Whereas you’re getting a controllable asset for years to come in Brandon Montour, who is cheap right now too.