Moving Marleau won’t be an easy task for the Maple Leafs
Helene St. James: From understanding Patrick Marleau isn’t going to be traded to the Los Angles Kings. Any of their trade talks with the Leafs had salary cap issues for both sides, and that a workable trade wasn’t there.
Pierre LeBrun: The Maple Leafs and Arizona Coyotes talked about Patrick Marleau. Got the sense that the Coyotes would require a premium asset to be included to take on Marleau.
Shawn Simpson: Can’t see Marleau going to the Coyotes or Kings without another year being added to his contract.
Craig Morgan of The Athletic: The Toronto Maple Leafs need salary cap space. Defenseman Nikita Zaitsev has asked to be traded – five more years at $4.5 million. Patrick Marleau has a year left at $6.25 cap hit, but a $1.5 million salary and two bonuses (July and December) totaling $3 million
Coyotes GM John Chayka has already stated:
“We already have flexibility and those things give us even more flexibility, whether that is from a cash perspective or a cap-space perspective,” he said. “We have been able to use both as assets to improve our group.”
The Coyotes are looking at other teams for scoring help as well.
Potential Maple Leafs forwards that might interest the Coyotes include Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson, Nazem Kadri, and Connor Brown.
It would seem unlikely that the Coyotes would take on Marleau just for an extra draft pick. They’d want a good young player and may want the Leafs to retain some salary – paying part of the signing bonus or retaining up to 50 percent on his salary.
Kapanen and Johnsson are RFAs. If the Maple Leafs were going to include either, they’d likely want a defenseman going back. The Coyotes may not be interested in moving a defenseman.
If the Leafs included Brown, would they also want something back?
Maple Leafs Hot Stove: Bob McKenzie on TSN 1050 on a potential Marleau trade. Marleau has a full no-movement and full no-trade clause, so he controls a lot.
“It’s pretty clear that the guy driving the bus on this entire thing is Patrick Marleau and his agent, Pat Brisson. That is where this is being orchestrated. Now, do the Toronto Maple Leafs want to get rid of the third year of his contract paying him $6.25 million and allocate the dollars someplace else? Yes, they would. But it’s not a coincidence it was the LA Kings the Leafs were talking about or the Arizona Coyotes because ultimately the Leafs can’t do anything without Marleau signing off on it.”
McKenzie adds that there is a likely a mutual agreement that it’s time for Marleau to move on. It’s not an easy move for the Leafs to make.
The Kings may need the Maple Leafs to take back a bad contract, but that may not benefit the Leafs.
“A team like the Arizona Coyotes might take Marleau off of the Leafs’ hands, but they’d say they want a really good young player in return or a high draft pick. The Leafs may not be predisposed to do that at this time.”
There is no guarantee that the Maple Leafs will be able to find a deal that works for everyone.
