Maple Leafs Turned Down Offer to Trade For MacKenzie Weegar

Whether the report is completely accurate or not, the Toronto Maple Leafs are taking a bit of a beating on social media today. The reason? Apparently, the team turned down an opportunity to land a well-respected and talented defenseman in MacKenzie Weegar in a trade.

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.@FlaPanthers D MacKenzie Weegar talks the 6-1 #TBLvsFLA Game 2 loss and heading to Tampa Bay Monday for their 3rd matchup of the season.#FlaPanthers #OneTerritory #NHL pic.twitter.com/Hk3JDRcdJN

— FOX Sports Florida & Sun (@FOXSportsFL) February 14, 2021

On Friday, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talked about a deal that was apparently on the table between the Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. The Panthers were willing to move Weegar to the Leafs but wanted Travis Dermott and Andreas Johnsson. The two analysts are reporting that GM Kyle Dubas said no.

Trades don’t happen all the time. In fact, logic would suggest there are two-three times as many failed trades that don’t ultimately go down as ones that do. This one stings a bit though for Leafs Nation.

Friedman and Marek pointed out how well Weegar is playing for Florida and that he’s a big part of their success this season. At the same time, Leafs fans are noting that Johnsson was already traded and the team could lose Dermott in the Seattle expansion draft.

Johnsson went to the New Jersey Devils for Joey Anderson. Anderson has played only one game with the Maple Leafs this season and failed to record a point. Meanwhile, Dermott has had all the potential in the world the last couple of years and remains a bottom pairing for the Leafs.

You Win Some You Lose Some

While Maple Leaf fans are a bit bummed to hear they could have grabbed a defenseman that would have made a big difference to their lineup, the Leafs aren’t doing all that shabby despite a couple of ugly losses this past week.

Toronto picked up a bit 7-3 win over Ottawa on Thursday and still lead the North Division and the NHL standings with 28 points.

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