The Leafs finally made a move to free up a roster space by jettisoning the rarely-used Peter Holland to the Arizona Coyotes for a conditional draft pick, according to Elliotte Friedman:
Think Peter Holland is going to ARIZ for a conditional draft pick
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 9, 2016
No word yet on what the pick or condition is, so we will update this article when more information is available.
While Holland put forth a fair performance last season, it was clear that Leafs’ management was still not sold on his performance, as contract negotiations dragged on to the point where GM Lou Lamoriello waived Holland before re-signing him.
A quick look at Holland’s HERO chart from last season tells the story of a bottom-six player with modest third-line offensive ability and good shot suppression:
A deeper investigation of Holland’s numbers, however, revealed a less optimistic perspective, as Holland was matched and perhaps even out-played by Ben Smith, according to Ryan Hobart of The Leafs Nation.
This move may be a good one for the Leafs to make inasmuch as it will help their cap situation and open up a roster spot for Josh Leivo - but this is only if we take it for granted that Holland wasn’t going to get a chance to build on the work he did last season. It’s also just good to see a player get the chance to play, even if it isn’t in Toronto.
On the other hand, the Leafs’ fourth line did very well this season both by the eye test as well as the numbers when Holland was on it. Personally, I would have had him in the lineup for longer to see if he could do more, so I’m not altogether sure how I feel about this trade except to say that at the end of the day, it’s not that big of a deal.
Update:
#TML will only receive a 2018 sixth-round pick if the #Coyotes re-sign Holland or trade him, Chayka said.
— Sarah McLellan (@azc_mclellan) December 9, 2016