Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Rasmus Andersson and Craig Berube just got pulled back into a Leafs debate that looks even wilder now.
The number that jumps off the page is the one Darren Dreger put out there. He said Calgary wanted 2 first-round picks and Easton Cowan for Andersson.
That is not a serious price. That is a door-slam price.
And from Toronto’s side, it says a lot about why this thing never got where fans wanted it to go. The Leafs needed blue-line help, but not at that kind of cost.
Andersson is a real player. He had 30 points in 40 games and was headed to the Olympics with Sweden when his market got hot.
He would have helped Toronto. Nobody should pretend otherwise. With Chris Tanev done for the season, a right-shot defender like that would have changed the look of the back end.
But once the price gets to 2 firsts and Cowan, the whole conversation changes.
Darren Dreger: I believe the Flames wanted two 1sts and Easton Cowan for Rasmus Andersson – First Up (4/13)
Details emerge on what Treliving wouldn’t include in Andersson talks
That is the real takeaway now. Toronto was never in a position to torch that much of its future for a player who was not giving teams confidence on an extension.
That part matters just as much as the asset cost. The context around Andersson was always that he looked likely to test the market, and Vegas was long seen as the preferred landing spot anyway.
So imagine the Leafs paying a monster package, watching him play out the stretch, then seeing him walk.
That is why the deal Vegas actually made is useful context. Calgary got Zach Whitecloud, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick that could become a 2028 first, plus prospect Abram Wiebe, with Andersson at 50 percent retention.
That is already a massive return. If Calgary really wanted 2 firsts and Cowan from Toronto, then the Flames were basically asking the Leafs to pay a panic tax.
Berube would have welcomed the player. No question.
But this roster had too many problems for one defenseman to justify gutting a pipeline piece like Cowan and stacking first-round picks on top of it.
So yes, the Dreger report is eye-opening. It also makes the Leafs’ decision look a lot smarter after the fact.
Toronto did not lose Rasmus Andersson.
It may have dodged one of the easiest franchise mistakes to make when a team starts feeling desperate.
Previously on Toronto Hockey Daily
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We now know what Brad Treliving refused to give up for Rasmus Andersson
Were the Maple Leafs right to walk away at that Rasmus Andersson price ?