Will Bobby McMann be an own rental for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
Luke Fox of Sportsnet: Toronto Maple Leafs forward Bobby McMann is one of the team’s leading goal scorers this season. The 29-year-old is pending UFA. He’s been inconsistent throughout his NHL career, which is one of the reasons the Leafs didn’t extend him this offseason.
He’s shown he can hang in a top-six, and will be getting a raise from the Leafs or someone else. He’ll be looking for money and term. The Leafs will need to decide whether they want to use him as an ‘own rental’ or will they trade him to recoup some assets that they’d trade for the past few years?
On the ‘soft’ trade deadline
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – Tensions Are High In New Jersey episode, on the ‘soft’ trade deadline before the Olympics. Will teams look to make moves or will they be caustious in case of injury.
Bukauskas: “Do you think Elliotte, like we kind of saw it last year. There was almost a soft trade deadline before Four Nations, before the actual. Do you see something similar here, before Olympics? I know it’s different now with the LTIR rules, but are teams thinking that way at all.”
NHL Rumors: New York Islanders Buying and Trade Deadline Musings
Friedman: “Yes, they are. We mentioned hearing about Calgary, and Anderson and what they might be willing to do.
But I do think if players are going to play at the Olympics, yes, teams would like to do that. However, I had another team say to me, you might not want to trade for someone before the Olympics, and then they get hurt there.
You know it’s going to come down to supply and demand, right? Who does everybody want? How many teams are interested in them? When do you think you can get them? If you don’t strike now, do you let other teams in it? How many teams are really letting you know about guys who are available?
The bottom line is, as someone said to me, if you really want the player, you’re going to get them and you’re going to say, all right, whatever the timing is, if it’s our time now, we’re doing it.”
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