“Whispers” of a giant trade between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins.

This would be a massive shake up for both teams.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
“Whispers” of a giant trade between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Keystone Press

Earlier today we reported on comments made by National Hockey League insider Nick Kypreos regarding the future of Frederik Andersen in Toronto. Kypreos at the time said that he suspected that Andersen had played his final game in a Maple Leafs uniform and although that appeared to come out of left field it now appears as though there is a good reason behind Kypreos' speculation. 

Kypreos has now revealed that he has been hearing rumblings of a truly gigantic trade between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Toronto Maple Leafs, one that would see the two organizations swap their current netminders. That means that Andersen, the player Kypreos believes to be done in Toronto, would be sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for another embattled goaltender in two-time Stanley Cup Champion Matt Murray.

"I think we see a different goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs," said Kyreos. "Someone whispered to me yesterday 'keep an eye out for Matt Murray for Frederik Andersen.'"

I have to admit as crazy as the idea may be on its surface it does make a lot of sense from the perspective of the two goalies. Andersen has struggled to close out series for the Toronto Maple Leafs and has been rightfully criticized for his performances in elimination games, while Matt Murray has also seen the tide turn against him in Pittsburgh with many Penguins fans calling the on the team to make Tristan Jarry the organization's number one goalie ahead of Murray. Now whether or not Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas and Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford have discussed the possibility is another matter entirely, but many believe that Rutherford will trade one of his goalies during the offseason so it is by no means far fetched to think it may have happened already.

"Pittsburgh of course has Matt Murray, they've got issues, the Leafs probably not that comfortable with Frederik Andersen, how about that trade one for one?" asked Kypreos.

The one thing here that does give me pause regarding this rumor is that both the Penguins and the Leafs will be looking for cap relief this summer. They certainly won't find that in a trade with each other. A trade of this nature however could be about solving problems that are beyond just the salary cap. 

Source: