UPDATE: 7:15PM
TSN's Gary Lawless is reporting that the New York Islanders and Maple Leafs going back-forth on winger P.A. Parenteau.
Toronto is looking for a second round pick for the 32-year-old pending UFA, who played on a line with John Tavares from 2010 to 2012 and scored 38 goals and 82 assists in 161 games. Lawless indicates that the Islanders want Parenteau but are balking at giving up that high a draft pick at this point, but may be willing if rental options continue to drop off the list.
Note : Continue to check back to my column on Hockeybuzz throughout the day for the latest Leafs updates or on Twitter and watch the HockeyBuzz Trade Deadline special Monday starting at 11am.
The Toronto Maple Leafs look to be prepared to move more players in the next 24 hours before the February 29th trade deadline, but have to be mindful of the Toronto Marlies when piecing together their roster for the last five weeks of the season.
The club demoted forward Colin Greening to their AHL affiliate and recalled Rich Clune after he played in a 10-5 victory over the Rochester Americans on Saturday.
Clune is likely to remain with the Leafs the rest of the season with the expected exodus of veterans P-A Parenteau, Brad Boyes and Michael Grabner before 3pm Monday.
Toronto also placed goaltender Alex Stalock on waivers. The 28-year-old was acquired on Saturday in the deal with San Jose for James Reimer. If unclaimed, the demotion opens up more salary cap space for the Leafs.
Rookie Garret Sparks was recalled to backup Jonathan Bernier in Montreal. According to GM Lou Lamoriello, Sparks and possibly rookie Antoine Bibeau will get a chance to prove themselves at the NHL level in the last five weeks of the regular season, which means that Stalock will hold down the fort as the Marlies backup.
One curious aspect of deadline day for Toronto will be to see what they do with key players from their AHL affiliate who are currently on the roster. Sparks, Josh Leivo, Brendan Leipsic and Stuart Percy all have to be on the Marlies roster before the deadline to be able to participate in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
It is possible that the club will send the youngsters down and recall them after 3pm, but that would use up most or all of their allotment of four call ups after the deadline. It is possible that Greening, the recently acquired Ben Smith and other players acquired in trades on Monday could fill spots on the roster, but that would not provide young prospects the chance to get a taste of the NHL.
The Leafs have four forwards (James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Joffrey Lupul and Milan Michalek) and one defenseman (Stephane Robidas) on injured reserve and will be adding another to the list, as Byron Froese suffered a broken hand in the 4-1 loss to the Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
Emergency recalls do not count against the four call up limit, so those injuries could allow other youngsters like Nikita Soshnikov, Zach Hyman and William Nylander to come up without risking their AHL playoff eligibility.
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The information coming out after the Reimer trade to San Jose on Saturday seemed to shoot down the possibility of the former Leaf goalie returning as a free agent next summer.
Sportsnet's Damien Cox indicated that Reimer's contract demand was a six-year deal for $6 Million per season, which was immediately refuted by his agent, Ray Petkau.
While there is no disputing his qualities as a person and a teammate, the soon-to-be 28-year-old is not a good fit for what the rebuilding Leafs. Spending $6 Million on a goaltender while in the beginning stages of a transition does not make sense and especially on someone with the history of inconsistency and lack of durability that Reimer has.
If Sparks proves to be worthy of a longer look, the 22-year-old will get a contract extension and be part of the goaltending mix with Jonathan Bernier (unless Lamoriello is able to trade the veteran with another year left on his deal).
Otherwise, the Leafs will go goaltender hunting in the offseason and it will be someone young enough to be on hand when the likes of Nylander and Mitch Marner are coming into their own.
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Listen to myself on the Blue and White Tonight Podcast as we discuss the upcoming trade deadline:
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