Sarge said:
Give me 10 starters who were dealt at the deadline in the last 10 years. Even if you can, it's still rarity.
You're not making any sense. Nobody is saying the deals had to happen specifically at the deadline for the Leafs to improve(in fact, that's counter intuitive as the earlier the trade the more it could help) and nobody is saying that the goalie in question would have to be his team's "starter" in order to have helped the Leafs. Josh Harding, as an example, is a guy who wouldn't be considered Minnesota's starter but would probably have been an improvement for the Leafs' situation.