NHL Trade: Maple Leafs Acquire Denis Malgin From Panthers For Mason Marchment

The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded forward Mason Marchment to the Florida Panthers for forward Denis Malgin.

The 23-year old Malgin was drafted 102nd overall in the fourth round of the 2015 draft by the Panthers. He carries a $750,000 cap hit and will be an RFA after the season.

The 24-year old Marchment was undrafted. He carries a $767,500 cap hit.

Thoughts from the media

Mike Augello: “This #Leafs – Florida deal is puzzling, a) because they made it with a club they are in direct competition with, and b) because they traded a winger with size and sandpaper (with a durability problem) for another smallish forward.”

Mike Augello: “Based on some of the things that have been glaring issues with the #Leafs this season, Marchment should have been given more of a chance than 4 NHL games. Time will tell…..”

Dobber Hockey: “I think Malgin has untapped potential. I also think the Leafs traded away one thing they need – grit. Strategy is obviously continue to out-gun teams 7-6”

Charlie O’Connor: “Can someone explain to me why the Florida Panthers started two defensemen at forward last week and then proceeded to waive and trade away two forwards who played in the NHL this year and aren’t useless? What is even going on down there?”

Jonas Siegel: “New Leaf Denis Malgin played with Auston Matthews in Switzerland during the 2015-16 season.”

Scott Wheeler: “I like this a lot for the Leafs. Malgin has the talent to play up and down the lineup. Marchment was boxed in as a fourth-line option. In absence of Johnsson/Mikheyev, Leafs needed a little more skill in the bottom six.”

Scott Wheeler: “His puck handling/passing will immediately stand out. Grew up playing centre but he’s a right-shot winger in the NHL (Leafs may use him at LW). Played the odd game at centre/subbed in when players got booted out of the circle but he’s 39% on faceoffs this season.”

Sean Tierney: “The way FLA has played, it’s impressive that Malgin has looked at all decent by xG share in his limited minutes. He’s shooting 8.5%, so that’s normal or slightly good. The transitions data is the most encouraging part of all.”

Adam Gretz: “This isn’t any kind of earth shattering trade by any stretch but why does Florida do this trade? Malgin is a legit NHLer and still younger than Marchment.”

Hayden Soboleski: “Florida already have legit AHL scorers this year in Tippett and Saarela. So is Marchment getting an NHL tryout? If that’s the case, I don’t think he’s an upgrade over Hawryluk, who they just list on waivers. My best guess is that maybe Tippett gets a look soon, and March to AHL.”

@MostlyLeafies: “IMMEDIATE TRADE ANALYSIS™: Out of the 20 Florida Panthers to have played 350+ minutes of 5v5 hockey this season, Denis Malgin ranks 20th with an on-ice Sv% of .871. He’ll fit right in on this Maple Leafs team.”

Leafs add 23 y.o. Denis Malgin.

👉poor xG share (right beside Acciari)
👉hot start managing quality, bottomed out, and has since been steady at break-even
👉4 goals on 5.5 xG and shooting from 32 ft on avg (that’s avg distance for a fwd)
👉great transitions data (via Sznajder) pic.twitter.com/64Cljt3Tmn

— Sean Tierney (@ChartingHockey) February 19, 2020

I mentioned the play-driving numbers, that includes defense. And here you can see how Malgin might help the Leafs in a depth role. This heat map by @IneffectiveMath shows his ability to suppress threats in his own zone by 11% compared to league average. pic.twitter.com/C0JoUDQPVu

— Bill Comeau 📊 (@Billius27) February 19, 2020

Denis Malgin is just weird. Over the last three seasons, he has gone from good to replaceable. pic.twitter.com/SOxrBmQvs9

— Evolving-Hockey (@EvolvingHockey) February 19, 2020

Denis Malgin

Mason Marchement