Rumor: Another trade on the horizon for the Maple Leafs.
Kyle Dubas may not be done.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have pulled off a number of trades leading up to the National Hockey League's trade deadline on March 3rd. Earlier this month the Leafs acquired Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues, and just moments ago the Leafs pulled off another deal that saw them add 2 additional players to their roster.
Today's trade might lead you to believe that the Leafs may be done trading before the deadline, but that may not in fact be the case. On Monday, NHL insider Frank Seravalli revealed that the Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks may be closing in on a deal leading up to the trade deadline, specifically one that would pertain to Maple Leafs forward Alex Kerfoot.
Additionally, Seravalli suggests that a trade involving Kerfoot is one of only two ways the Maple Leafs can remain cap compliant moving forward and the only one that would allow them to utilize goaltender Matt Murray in their lineup leading up to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Kerfoot is in the final year of a 4 year contract that carries an average annual value and salary cap hit of $3.5 million, so it is a bit of head scratcher as to why the Canucks would have interest here. If this is designed to be a purely cap-clearing move on the part of the Maple Leafs, I am inclined to believe that the Canucks will be demanding an additional draft pick as compensation in this deal.