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With the NHL Draft less than two weeks away and the NHL offseason possibly getting underway on Monday if the St. Louis Blues win Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas is said to be burning up the phone lines in pursuit of possible trades that could alleviate his club’s cap crunch while also addressing some areas of need.
Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun indicated in his Saturday column that the Leafs have discussed trades involving RFA Kasperi Kapanen, veteran Patrick Marleau and winger Connor Brown.
Kapanen, who scored 20 goals for the first time last season, was said to be open to a short-term bridge deal after Dubas spoke to agent Markus Lehto after the trade deadline, but the Leafs need upgrade on defense and with their depth at forward and Andreas Johnsson and Mitch Marner also needing contracts, they are exploring all options.
Although it appears that Marleau is on his way out with a $6.25 Million cap hit in the final year of his contract, reports of his house being for sale as confirmation of that were slightly inaccurate. Simmons reports that Marleau put the house up for sale in Toronto during the season due to tax implications in the US and that plans to rent the same house were scuttled once the picture was made clear that the Leafs had to move him.
Brown has a year remaining on a three-year, $6.3 Million contract, and has been labeled as a potential cap casualty playing on the fourth line with a salary over $2 Million, coming off a career-low eight goals, but the Toronto native has been victimized in part for his versatility and head coach Mike Babcock’s trust in his ability to be plugged into any situation.
Simmons indicates that there are conflicting reports of whether the Leafs are interested in dealing Brown, but it is likely tied to what other moves are made. If Kapanen is dealt for defensive help, than Brown would likely be put back permanently into a top 9 forward role. Plus the savings made dealing Brown would not be significant, since potential replacements like Ilya Mikheyev or Egor Korshkov make just under $1 Million next season.
The possibility of Toronto re-signing Jake Gardiner may rely on the ability of Dubas to trade Nikita Zaitsev and not have to take back a significant salary back. The 28-year-old is rumored to want to stay with the Leafs, but it would have to be at a lower price than what he would attract in free agency from other NHL teams on July 1.
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