He's right, all you can do is wait and see at this point. Unfortunately if it survives, it might be so severly stunted that the other may grow significantly larger in the next couple of years. Only time will tell. Just be careful not to overwater or underwater as this will make matters worse...sometimes less care is best for maples.

The way to tell if a tree is dead is scrape a little bit of bark away from a twig. If it's green then it's still alive. Also if it's really brittle and breaks and is brown then it's dead. Red maples, (is it a red lace leaf?) usually turn brown when they're dead. If it is still alive and showing green under the bark then I would recommend moving it out of the water and see if it bounces back. If you start at the top of a branch and it seems dead when you scratch back a little bark then keep going down the branch. Some parts might be dead and others might not. IF there's green under the bark closer down the tree then it might be worth trying to save. If Ash seem to do well in that area then I would keep with the ash.

DO NOT FERTILIZE ANY PLANT UNLESS A SOIL TEST INDICATES THAT FERTILIZATION IS NEEDED! There is usually more than enough fertility in most soils for any tree or shrub that you plant. And if you do find out that fertilization is needed, DO NOT USE FERTILIZER SPIKES! Fertilizer spikes are too much fertilizer in too small of an area. Just because you can buy fertilizer spikes, doesn't mean that you should use fertilizer spikes. Instead, use a granular fertilizer, in the formulation indicated/required by the soil test, and spread it evenly under the tree. Most newly planted trees and shrubs are establishing their root system for the first few years and may not grow much. That's normal. The plants have been fed a rich diet while potted at the nursery and the root system is usually fairly small for the amount of top growth the plant has. After planting, the tree needs to develop its root system to be able to support the top-growth of the plant. Trying to force the tree to produce more top-growth than the root system can handle, is just asking for trouble. For an established tree, you would want to spread the fertilizer evenly under the tree and extending slightly beyond the tree's drip line. Again, there is probably no need to fertilize an established tree unless there is visually something wrong with the tree. My .02 Mike

where are you ... when was it moved ... was it leafed out at the time.. how do you rule out transplant stress ... what is your definition of sapling.. how large is it ... how did you plant it.. what was the weather since planting ... after planting.. what was your aftercare protocol ... did you fert a stressed plant ... why did you default to spraying goo on it ... stressed plants have a way of coming down with all kinds of secondary problems ... but if you don't ID and fix the primary problem ... it will continue to be problematic .... and to be clear ... i am thinking your plant is primarily stressed ken