The NHL trade deadline was on Monday, but the Maple Leafs are still making trades. The team reportedly sent defenceman Brennan Mennel to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Future Considerations. By Flyers, that actually means their AHL affiliate the LV Phantoms.  Mennel is not eligible to play in the NHL since this trade happened after the deadline. He can play in the AHL.

The most important part of this move means another SPC slot opens up for the Leafs which they can use to bring in players now from their reserve list on Entry-Level Contracts. The Leafs already had two slots open which are believed to be reserved for NCAA players Nick Abruzzese and Matthew Knies based on comments by Kyle Dubas on Monday, though they won’t be signed until their time in the NCAA Championship tournament comes to an end.

Now a third slot has been opened by trading away Menell. This allows the possibility of another signing from the NCAA, but Dubas could also be looking at Europe, particularly one of the Leafs Finnish prospects who are also starting their playoffs as well. Once they are done playing there, they could cross the Atlantic and play in Toronto. A prime candidate would be Topi Niemelä, but there are others as well.

A full list of the Leafs prospects in playoff roles was in this morning’s FTB:

Wednesday FTB: Maple Leafs prospects starting playoffs

The Leafs also moved out Alex Biega on Monday, leaving them shorthanded on defence on the Marlies. To help with this they’ve taken Philippe Myers on loan from Nashville. Myers will remain under contract to the Predators, but will play in Toronto in the AHL.

Should the Predators decide they need to recall him, they can do that.

Update:

So the rights to sign Menell end up costing nothing, and it cost nothing to send him to a new place. He ended up playing only 20 games for the Marlies and never caught on. His past is littered with points, almost all of the assists, and it seems that if he plays behind the right forwards, he looks good in the offensive zone.

Of all the depth defenders signed, it’s Carl Dahlström who sticks around for next year.

Toronto Marlies