Trade szn really began when they acquired Quinn Hughes in December, well before the deadline. Hughes is not only one of the top defensemen in the sport but also a true leader who was instrumental in Team USA's Olympic gold. This past week they picked up forward Bobby Brink from Philadelphia, defenseman Jeff Petry from Florida, and Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno, who joins brother Marcus to try to win the Stanley Cup together.
I think, look, [Carlson and Dowd are] great players, and they're going to do great where they've gone, but, at the end of the day, they're in their mid-30s. Our team is starting to have some younger guys step up, and at some point, you need to pass the torch a little bit. This allowed us to get some good assets for some players that, realistically, in four years from now, probably aren't on our team, and we can use those assets to improve what we have here now.
During his update, Friedman noted there was no chance of Matthews being moved at the recent trade deadline, but he said that at the end of the season, the Leafs and Matthews are going to "sit down and have a conversation." He added that discussion between the team and player may not happen right at the end of the year, but each might "wait and see how everything unfolds."
