The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today they have traded forward Adam Cracknell to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for RD Steven Oleksy.
.@SportChek Player Alert: The @MapleLeafs have acquired defenceman Steve Oleksy from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Adam Cracknell.#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/OE06NoqNFA
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 11, 2018
Adam Cracknell was signed by the Leafs on July 1st, although this acquisition was a little overshadowed by another prominent forward acquisition. He’s a very competent AHL-level forward, but the Marlies were in a bit of an odd spot: they’d just acquired forwards Morgan Klimchuk (for Andrew Nielsen) and Michael Carcone (for Josh Leivo), and suddenly they were facing a shortage of defencemen where previously they’d had an excess, thanks to Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren being chosen for the Swedish World Junior team. Given that AHL teams are restricted in how many veterans they can play each night, it made sense to flip a forward veteran in Cracknell for a defensive one in Oleksy.
Steven Oleksy is known to the Marlies from a previous stint with the organization; he came to Toronto in the Eric Fehr/Frank Corrado swap on March 1, 2016, and played down the stretch and in the playoffs that year. He left a positive impression with the club as a tough, dependable presence who’s good in the room, and the club has decided to add him back. There’s essentially zero chance he appears in the NHL, but there was only slightly more chance of that happening with Cracknell, so you can see the thinking here.
The above was a Maple Leaf transaction, despite the fact it has primarily AHL significance—the Leafs traded one SPC away and took one back. The Marlies made a move of their own with the Ducks’ AHL organization, dealing goaltender Jeff Glass for future considerations.
The @TorontoMarlies have traded goaltender Jeff Glass to the San Diego Gulls in exchange for future considerations.#MarliesLive
— Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) December 11, 2018
The Marlies have been thin at goaltender ever since the Leafs’ organization lost its third- and fourth-string goalies (Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard) on waivers at the start of the year. This opened the door for Jeff Glass, and as you’d guess from the fact he’s been dealt for a wish and a promise, it didn’t go so well. Glass put up .849 in ten games with the AHL club and was behind Eamon McAdam and Kasimir Kaskisuo in the pecking order.
The Gulls might be in the market for whichever goalie they can find because Anaheim Ducks backup Ryan Miller may or may not be injured. As with all goalie injuries this has cascading impacts down the organization, leading to an AHL slot that needs filling. Best of luck to Jeff Glass, hopefully he can make the most of a chance with the Gulls.
Gosh, the Leafs and the Ducks sure love trading with each other, don’t they?
