John Chayka has done plenty right since taking over as Maple Leafs general manager, but the Emil Andrae part of the Kirill Marchenko trade is already looking like his first costly misstep.
Chayka’s arrival in Toronto drew plenty of attention, and not all of it was kind. A lot of people viewed the hire as a risky call, especially because he had been out of the league for years.
Since then, though, he has reshaped the organization fast. He drafted Gavin McKenna, pulled off the blockbuster for Marchenko, made a series of aggressive free-agent moves, and brought in a new staff that fits the players and the club better overall.
The Marchenko trade was part of that aggressive push, and it made sense on hockey terms. Toronto needed a puck-driver for Auston Matthews, and even though the goals and assists from Marchenko haven’t fully taken off yet, he has been an important piece on the top line.
But the deal also carried a hidden price, and that’s where Andrae comes in.
Andrae was not supposed to be the piece Toronto moved, according to James Mirtle. He was added late to make the deal work under the cap and within NHL rules, and that extra wrinkle is part of why the trade dragged on. As Mirtle put it:
"They weren't thinking they were gonna move off Emil Andrae, that kinda happened at the last minute to get the trade through, so they're...thinner depth wise than they were thinking they were gonna be."
That loss is being felt now. With Toronto dealing with injuries on the blue line, Andrae would have been an immediate answer. He could have stepped in for Chris Tanev and also helped lighten the load for Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has had a rough start and could use a breather.
Andrae is not being framed as a shutdown anchor, but he has shown enough to help a team. He’s a useful defender, and that kind of player matters. Instead, he has started his Blue Jackets career solidly, leaving Toronto without the depth piece it could really use right now.
The NHL’s tagging rule helped force the issue. League rules don’t allow a team to complete a move that would leave it over the cap for the following season, so Toronto had to make the numbers work. That meant including Andrae, with his $1.55M cap hit, and Steven Lorentz, with his $1.35M cap hit, along with Knies.
So while the Maple Leafs got a player they wanted in Marchenko, they also had to give up more than they initially planned. Lorentz has been on a tear in the AHL, and Andrae has settled in well with Columbus, which only makes the cost sting more in the short term.
Even so, the trade may still be worth it for Toronto. But right now, with the blue line short-handed, the Andrae piece is the first move from Chayka that’s clearly coming back to bite them.
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