Luke Fox of Sportsnet: Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis was on Hockey Central at Noon today.
“If and when there are deals that make sense to us to bring in players, whether it’s free agency or trades, that will help us win and develop our team long-term, then we’ll do it. But there isn’t a time frame on it,” Leafs general manager Dave Nonis told Hockey Central at Noon Monday. “You have to get value if you are going to move players.”
Phil Kessel holds a limited no-trade clause.
“Yes, we signed Phil long-term; we think he’s a good player. I think he’s still top-20 in goals this year despite the fact he’s had a difficult time lately, but he doesn’t have a no-trade,” Nonis said.
“We do have teams we can trade him to. You need to have some flexibility to change your team, and we have that.”
Nonis has had a number of talks with other GMs about the Leafs core players.
“Players that are at that end of the pay scale usually get moved in the off-season, if at all,” he explained. “Very few get moved in the season, but we have had discussions with other teams.”