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Fehr dealt to San Jose, the art of haggling; Leafs vs. Panthers |
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UPDATE The Leafs have traded center Eric Fehr to the San Jose Sharks for a seventh round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. The 32-year-old had 28 points (17 goals and 11 assists) in 34 games with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL this season after being sent by Toronto in early November.
With the deal, if the Leafs are not retaining any salary, they clear another professional contract and $975,000 (pro-rated) off their payroll, which creates space on the roster and the salary cap to add players before the NHL Trade Deadline next Monday.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs return home after splitting a pair of weekend road games to take on the Florida Panthers at Air Canada Centre on Tuesday. The Leafs rebounded from a wanting defensive effort in a 5-3 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday with a 3-2 victory over Detroit on Sunday night.
The Panthers have played a league-low 56 games so far and are hoping to climb back into the Eastern Conference playoff race with their games in hand. Florida have gone 7-3-0 in their last 10 games and are within six points of Carolina and the NY Islanders for the second wildcard spot, which is a more realistic goal than making up the 19-point deficit(with five games in hand) behind third place Toronto in the Atlantic Division.
Roman Polak skated with rookie Travis Dermott at the Leafs morning skate and the veteran will draw back in on the bottom pairing after sitting in favor of Connor Carrick in Detroit.
Tyler Bozak did not skate on Tuesday morning, but head coach Mike Babcock indicated that the Leafs center was absent due to maintenance and will play against the Panthers.
Frederik Andersen was in the home net and will make his league-leading 51st start for Toronto. Roberto Luongo made his first start in over two months on Saturday and stopped 30 shots in a 6-3 win over the Calgary Flames. The 38-year-old is expected to get the start against the Leafs.
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When it comes to this time of year, the experience and savvy of NHL general managers in negotiating trades is an extremely valuable asset. We never get the full picture of what is going on, but the little snippets of info that come out offer some insight to the haggling that occurs.
On Friday, TSN’s Frank Seravelli reports that the Leafs and Dallas Stars have interest in center Luke Glendening, known to be a favorite of head coach Mike Babcock.
Dallas GM Jim Nill was quick to refute the report of interest in Glendening, which may have been an attempt to generate more interest in the depth center.
Glendening is locked up for another three years at $1.8 Million and would likely be the replacement for Dominic Moore as the club’s fourth line center. According to Seravelli, Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello offered a fifth round pick for the 28-year-old, while Wings GM Ken Holland countered by asking for one of the pair of second round picks Toronto has in the upcoming NHL Draft, which ended the talks for the time being.
The Wings appear to be approaching a partial rebuild, moving out goaltender Petr Mrazek and likely dealing pending free agent defenseman Mike Green. It is not surprising that they would be open to moving Glendening, who would be 30 or 31 when they would be in position to be a playoff team again, but Holland could be overplaying his hand if he expects to get a second round pick for a depth center.
If the cost comes down to a lower-round pick or a younger fourth line candidate like Frederik Gauthier, it is possible that this deal could resurface before 3pm Monday.
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Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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