LOS ANGELES – Okay, this is going to take a little digging to unpack what happened today.



Let’s start with this: Unless I’m missing something, the Maple Leafs did not have a very good trade deadline day. In fact, I would categorize it as the opposite of that.



After a lot of talk the Leafs would use their long-term injured reserve cap space as a weapon, they ultimately did not. They tried, but a deal with Tampa Bay to bring in Valtteri Filppula’s big deal ultimately failed when he wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause.



Apparently Filppula was worried about being marginalized on Robidas Island. Players know if they come to Toronto that’s always a possibility, after watching it happen with Joffrey Lupul, Milan Michalek, Brooks Laich and, well, Stephane Robidas.



So what the Leafs did instead on deadline day was add a $2-million salary for a fourth-line forward (Eric Fehr) that carries over into next...