On the Toronto Maple Leafs …
- Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun: Morgan Rielly doesn’t put a lot merit into talk that he’s the least likely to be traded by the Maple Leafs.
“I don’t know if that’s true and I don’t put a whole lot of merit into what I hear from outside sources,” Rielly said before the Leafs went into all-star break mode.
“With the deadline coming up, there are probably going to be moves because that’s the nature of the business. All the players are worried about is playing hard and trying to be a part of this team. I don’t pay too much attention to that stuff.”
- Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun: Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello has let teams know he’s open for business.Longley wonders if the Leafs could get a second round pick for each of P.A. Parenteau and Roman Polak.James Reimer has the second best save percentage at .932 and might be of interest for a team looking for some goaltender depth.Players like Shawn Matthias, Michael Grabner and Nick Spaling could be packaged together to get a higher draft pick or a better prospect.
There is the perception that players like Morgan Rielly, Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner are untouchable.
Leo Komarov will get some interest, but sense is he’s the type of player Mike Babcock would like to keep around. Don’t expect Komarov to be traded, unless they are blown away by an offer.
- Darren Dreger of TSN: (last week) Some NHL management types that are not from Toronto think the James Reimer could get a five to seven year contract in the $4.5 to $5.5 million per season range. Reimer wouldn’t mind staying in Toronto, and there is no doubt that GM Lou Lamoriello will have interest in re-signing him. He will get interest from teams leading up to the trade deadline.