Joffrey Lupul Needs to Stay Healthy

Joffrey Lupul is slowly beginning to create a trade market for himself. He’s often been rumored to be available, but the injury-prone winger missed most of 2012-13, 13 games in 2013-14, and 27 games in 2014-15. With a $5.25 million dollar cap hit through 2017-18, Joffrey Lupul has simply been too expensive for the risk involved in acquiring him. There were even rumblings of a buy-out this past offseason. It’s worth noting Lupul has a no-trade clause, but it’s obvious he doesn’t fit the mold for the Leafs rebuild.

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Fast forward to this year 2015-16, Joffrey Lupul has produced a healthy training camp/preseason, along with 10 games now to open the regular season. He’s only got three goals and one assist in those 10 contests, but Lupul has always been a highly effective player when he’s on the ice. He’s had a few rough seasons due to injuries, but let’s not forget, Joffrey is the same player that produced 67 points in 66 games for Toronto in 2011-12. He’s also the same player that has surpassed 20 goals five times in his career.

Sep 29, 2015; Buffalo, NY, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Joffrey Lupul (19) during the game against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

When active, Joffrey Lupul is a strong player on both sides of the puck. He has a knack for finding the back of the net, and makes good passes in the offensive zone which usually results in a balanced goal to assist ratio. Lupul carries a high hockey IQ and makes smart decisions with, and without the puck that make him highly noticeable in a positive manner. At times, he’s an effective forechecker forcing opposition to make split-second decisions, sometimes resulting in turnovers. He also reads the play well on the forecheck, knows how to effectively cut-off passing lanes, and attempt to force turnovers.

Joffrey Lupul is also an underrated defensive forward who is an effective back-checker. While certain players such as Phil Kessel get a pass from some fans on his horrid defensive deficiencies and reluctance to back check that makes him the last man back 9/10 times. Those same fans are the ones that’ll tell you wingers have less responsibility to back-checking. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes traditionally the center holds extra responsibility and is usually expected to pick up the third man on the back-check, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes the center gets caught deep, or there’s a quick turnover, at which point the winger needs to identify and pick up the third man. A player’s defensive responsibilities can change, and that’s where Joffrey Lupul’s high hockey IQ comes in. Lupul has broken up several odd man rushes over his tenure in Toronto. He’s also got past playoff experience and has produced. He plays an effective style of hockey that would interest any team. It’s the cap hit and injury history that makes Lupul a tough sell on the trade market.

How Long Does Joffrey Lupul Need to Stay Healthy?

He’s had a couple of months of good health to begin 2015-16, which begs to ask at what point teams would feel comfortable acquiring him? He’s only got two seasons of 81 games, and has missed time in each of his 12 NHL seasons. How many teams would pass on him automatically? It’s probably more likely that Joffrey Lupul would need to stay healthy until the trade deadline. Teams will wait that long for two reasons. One, it’s a much greater sample size for health, and two, teams will only need to pay a fraction of his $5.25 million dollar cap hit. Obviously as mentioned at the beginning, all of this is based on the premise that Joffrey Lupul would be willing to waive his no-trade clause (which an aging vet is likely to do in a rebuild scenario).

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Who would be interested in acquiring Joffrey Lupul, if anyone? What would be a realistic asking price? Do you think Toronto should keep him? if so, why? Which contract is more difficult to move, Joffrey Lupul or Dion Phaneuf? The trade market has delivered crickets in the first month, but one has to believe the Maple Leafs will be actively shopping some of its players through 2015-16.