It’s a trade that might not shake you out of your sleep, but it’s an important deal for both teams. Nashville traded forward Matthew Lombardi and defenseman Cody Franson to Toronto for defenseman Brett Lebda and minor league forward Robert Slaney. This deal does things for both teams that should work out well in the end.
Leafs GM Brian Burke corrects the free agency mistake of a year ago and jettisons Brett Lebda. Lebda signed to a two-year, $2.9 million deal last season with Toronto and after just one season with the Leafs he wound up being the punching bag for the fans thanks to his poor play. By getting young, talented defenseman Cody Franson from Nashville, the Leafs add depth and talent to their blue line corps. Franson has solid upside and provides very steady play at defense. The addition of Lombardi might seem like a steal for Toronto but it’s mostly a salary dump for Nashville.
After Predators GM David Poile signed Lombardi to a three year, $10.5 million deal last summer but saw Lombardi get knocked out for the year with a concussion just two games into the season. With Lombardi’s future still in question as he’s still dealing with effects from that blow to the head, the Predators couldn’t afford to keep him and his $3.5 million cap hit around much longer. The cost of giving the Leafs that kind of money was in giving up Franson. As Poile said after the trade, it’s the price of doing business.
The freed up cap space will come in immediately handy for Nashville as they’ve got to get team captain and restricted free agent Shea Weber signed to a long term deal. They’ll also have other cornerstone defenseman Ryan Suter to get locked up to a long term deal as he’s due to become an unrestricted free agent after the upcoming season. This also frees up space for the Predators to attempt to acquire a top six forward. This will also give the Predators a chance to see what 2009 first round pick defenseman Ryan Ellis can do for them.
While Toronto can’t expect to get anything from Lombardi until he’s able to start skating again, the upside that Franson provides for their blue line was worth pulling the trigger on this deal. Both teams will benefit from this trade one way or another. For Toronto, simply subtracting Lebda from their roster could be viewed as a huge win (and believe us it’s already being seen that way) but Franson gives them a solid young guy to build on and one that can improve their power play. If they get anything positive from Lombardi, it’s gravy. For Nashville, freeing up opportunity for other players and clearing cap space to keep franchise players and potentially bringing big talent aboard made it a no-brainer for them.