Sunday was a busy day for the NHL's transaction wire as the New Jersey Devils got a head start on selling off pieces prior to this season's trade deadline. On Monday, it was the Los Angeles Kings who got some early work done.
Toffoli has been traded to the Vancouver Canucks.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) February 18, 2020
So to recap: Tyler Toffoli (no salary retained on his $4.6 M AAV) to Vancouver for Tim Schaller ($1.9 M AAV), prospect Tyler Madden, a 2nd RD pick this year plus a conditional 4th in '22 if Toffoli re-signs with Van City.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 18, 2020
On Monday night, the Kings agreed to trade winger Tyler Toffoli to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Tim Schaller, a 2020 second-round pick and forward prospect Tyler Madden. The Kings will also get a conditional pick from the Canucks if Toffoli signs in Vancouver beyond this season.
The 27-year-old Toffoli is in the final year of his contract ($4.6 million cap hit) and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He should provide an upgrade on the wing for a Canucks team that is hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Vancouver hasn't won a playoff series since making the Stanley Cup Final as Presidents' Trophy winners in 2011.
By buying in on Toffoli, the Canucks and GM Jim Benning are making a bet on this year's squad as they contend in a weak Pacific division. Vancouver currently sits third in the division but just one point of the Pacific lead, behind the Edmonton Oilers and the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The Calgary Flames and Arizona Coyotes are also in the hunt, sitting just one point behind the Canucks.
Toffoli is a skilled threat on the wing and has scored 18 goals and 34 points through 58 games for the Kings this season. He'd spent his entire eight-year career in Los Angeles, winning a Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2014. The final game of his Kings tenure was the Feb. 15 Stadium Series game, during which Toffoli scored recorded a hat trick outdoors against the Colorado Avalanche.
The Kings, who are among the league's worst teams this year, should be happy with their package of assets acquired in return. They get a roster player in Schaller but the meat of the package surrounds the high draft pick and Madden, who was a third-round pick of the Canucks in 2018 and is viewed as a very good young player by scouts. NHL.com ranked Madden as Vancouver's fifth-best prospect coming into this season.
