The Maple Leafs could pull a Nikita Kucherov for the playoffs!

Pulling a Nikita Kucherov has become a new hockey term, especially as the trade deadline and postseason are coming up.

You may remember how the Russian forward returned for the playoffs after missing the regular season while being placed on LTIR. The move enabled the Tampa Bay Lightning to maximize their salary cap spending, and according to the rules, Kucherov was eligible to return for the postseason. Since players are not paid in the playoffs, GM Julien BriseBois was able to re-insert Kucherov into the lineup, despite being 18 million dollars above the salary cap.

It got a lot of people talking and teams getting upset over the loop, however, the Toronto Maple Leafs might be the next ones to try to pull off a Kucherov ahead of the postseason. When speaking about Gustav Nyquist of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the recent announcement of his injury that could keep him out for the remainder of the season, Chris Johnston explained how the veteran forward could still be traded ahead of March 3rd. This is how he put it on last night’s Insider Trading on TSN:

“Nyquist suffered a shoulder injury last week and may be out for the rest of the regular season. This could actually make him be a more compelling trade deadline chip for teams who have a chance to go for it. That’s because of a lot of those teams are already using their long-term injury reserve and have the ability to add Nyquist before the deadline and if he’s not available until after the regular season, they can stash him on LTIR and activate him in the playoffs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, for example, have star forward Auston Matthews on LTIR, they can acquire him and have him there for one day and when Matthews is activated off LTIR, they would have essentially added a player without hurting their cap position whatsoever.

This is something to watch but the player does want to get healthy again. He is open to a move and wants a chance to compete for a Stanley Cup. I think he’ll still be traded even though he is injured at the moment.”

Oh, we are watching, Chris! I bet Kyle Dubas is too!

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