It seems like two bitter rivals are about to make a rather significant trade.
According to a breaking news report from Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman it now appears that the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators are working on something big. According to Friedman the trade would involve veteran defenseman Nikita Zaitsev being sent to the Ottawa Senators organization, although at this time Friedman has not provided any details regarding what might be coming back the other way from Ottawa. Everyone and their mother knows at this point that the Leafs have to clear some space, so if the Senators are wise they could take advantage of their cap space here to get a decent player who may be earning a little bit too much money on his current deal.
Stay tuned to this article for more details on this trade as they happen. We will be updating this story periodically so feel free to simply refresh every few minutes and check back.
Update: We have some juicy details regarding this potential deal now.
According to another breaking news report, this time from Sportsnet's National Hockey League insider Chris Johnston it appears that much maligned Ottawa Senators defenseman Cody Ceci will be going back the other way as a part of this deal. Johnston is also reporting that he does not believe this deal will be made official until after Zaitsev receives a $3 million signing bonus from the Maple Leafs on the 1st of July. Given that the Leafs have no problem wasting money that does not count against their cap and given that the notoriously cheap Ottawa Senators need to get to the salary floor this summer, this deal makes a lot of sense for both sides actually.
Fans in Toronto will probably not be thrilled at the possibility of Cody Ceci joining their roster, especially not after he has so often been mocked by both the Maple Leafs' and Ottawa Senators fan bases. On the other side of the equation however I bet that there are a ton of fans of the Ottawa market who are thrilled at the prospect of being able to root against Ceci while he plays for one of their most bitter rivals.
