Luke Fox of Sportsnet: The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be looking at the rental market over someone with term, and they mostly focused on forwards.
“It’s a rare time where probably a rental is the better fit,” GM Dubas said Tuesday, surveilling his cap picture and the NHL marketplace.
“In the summer, we had to move out some forwards that were good forwards for us in order to add on the back end. Thus, we feel like that’s an area where we may want to look at a little bit more, but I’m not precluding anything at this point. I’d say most of the conversations are focused on forwards right now.”
A look at some pending free agents that might interest the Maple Leafs.
Ryan Getzlaf – $8.25 million cap hit – Would slot in on their third-line nicely. Issues are his big cap hit, and his no-movement clause. Ducks GM Bob Murray said that Getzlaf would have to ask for a trade.
Taylor Hall – $8 million cap hit – Would think he wouldn’t mind a ticket out of Buffalo. He could play closer to this family and on a line with either Matthews and Marner or Tavares and Nylander.
Nick Foligno – $5.5 million cap hit – An older version of Zach Hyman. Has 10-team no-trade. Could re-sign with the Blue Jackets this offseason. Could the Leafs expand the deal to include David Savard and/or a Blue Jackets goaltender (Joonas Korpisalo/Elvis Merzlikins)?
Kyle Palmieri – $4.65 million – A winger for Tavares and Nylander.
Mikael Granlund – $3.75 million cap hit – Can play both center and wing.
Eric Staal – $3.25 million – A 10-team not trade and Staal may not be down with a 14-day quarantine. The St. Louis Blues, Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes may have an interest.
Other rental options could include Erik Haula, Danton Heinen, Luke Glendening, Ryan Dzingel, Bobby Ryan, Riley Sheahan, Riley Nash, Sam Gagner
Alex Iafallo – $2.425 million cap hit – The LA Kings would like to extend Iafallo and the cap space to do so.
Josh Wegman and Matt Teague of theScore: The Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have a lot of salary cap flexibility leading up the NHL trade deadline. They may need a team to retain salary, or be interested in Alex Kerfoot and his $3.5 million cap hit. The 14-day quarantine needed for any player from a U.S. based team likely means the Leafs could be looking to make a move soon.
Five rental options the Leafs could look at include Nick Foligno, Taylor Hall, Mikael Granlund, Tanner Pearson and Kyle Palmieri.