VANCOUVER – What a complete and awful poison pill that Patrick Marleau contract ended up being.



The Maple Leafs had a really interesting draft this year given all they are trying to do to clear cap space, but the story of the weekend was surrendering their 2020 first-rounder the day after they didn’t have a pick in 2019’s opening round. I asked several executives around the league how they felt about the deal and most seemed to understand and appreciate why it was made.



But it was a grim reminder how expensive it can be to get out of a brutal contract just 24 hours before the NHL’s unrestricted free-agent interview window opened on Sunday.



“They had to do it,” one rival team exec said.



What I liked about the Leafs day is that it was forward thinking. Yes, they surrendered a first-round pick, which weakens the prospect pool, but they also locked in Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson for the medium term. Given how...