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Between now and the beginning of free agency on July 28, it is likely that rumors of potential signings and trades will come at a fast and furious pace (and not from noted hockey insider Vin Diesel).
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in his 31 Thoughts column mentioned that Toronto had interest in Detroit winger Tyler Bertuzzi during the season, but moved off of the 26-year-old forward when his injury situation required surgery.
Friedman questioned whether a trade between division rivals might still work, and independently I have found out that the Wings are leaning toward re-signing Bertuzzi to a multi-year extension rather than entertaining trade offers.
The other update is something that has become more obvious with each day. The Leafs with their current cap situation will not be able to bring back winger Zach Hyman. The 29-year-old is attracting interest from a number of clubs including the Red Wings (Edmonton has also been mentioned), and a brisk market will likely price Toronto out unless Leafs GM Kyle Dubas is open to trading term for a lower AAV.
On the coaching front, Toronto is looking for an experienced assistant to replace Dave Hakstol, now the head coach of the Seattle Kraken. According to Friedman, the Leafs reached out to former Arizona bench boss Rick Tocchet and might be interested in former Leaf Luke Richardson, whose contract with the Montreal Canadiens is set to expire.
Tocchet has a great reputation as someone who can reach even the most unreachable players (for example he was credited for being the Phil Kessel “whisperer… as an assistant in Pittsburgh) and was in the mix for the Seattle and Buffalo jobs before the Kraken settled on Hakstol and Buffalo kept Don Granato.
Richardson took over for Habs interim coach Dominque Ducharme during the Stanley Cup Semi-Final and Final because of Ducharme testing positive for COVID-19. The Leafs 1987 first rounder was formerly an assistant with the Senators, Islanders and Canadiens and was head coach with Ottawa’s AHL affiliate in Binghamton *******
Lot’s of â¤ï¸ for the 💙ðŸ¤
— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) April 26, 2021
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