The majority of recent rumors surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs have focused on a potential move to acquire the top pick from the Florida Panthers before or at the 2014 Entry Draft being held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on June 27-28.
Edmonton Journal columnist David Staples mentioned last month that the Leafs would be willing to swap their 8th overall pick along with defenseman Dion Phaneuf for the first overall pick and veteran reporter Howard Berger stated on his webpage this week about a potential deal that would include center Nazem Kadri, Phaneuf and the #8 pick for the #1 overall selection and veteran defenseman Ed Jovanovski, but was informed later in the week by a scout for a Western Conference team that while the two clubs have discussed a deal involving Phaneuf, that trading 23-year-old Kadri in the same deal would be something that GM Dave Nonis would balk at.
Toronto Sun’s Mike Zeisberger, added more fuel to the fire on Thursday stating that the Leafs had set up an interview with a draft eligible player that most expect to be selected with one of the top three picks at the end of the recent NHL Scouting Combine. The club was not originally scheduled to meet with said youngster, but indications are that the Leafs were doing their due diligence in case they could make a deal to move up from #8.
The components of a workable trade appear realistic and reasonable based on the current status of the two clubs. The Leafs are looking to make a move to change the chemistry of their club without taking a major step backwards from contending for a playoff spot next season, while the Panthers want to get into the playoff mix by adding veterans to their young core of Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Nick Bjugstad and Erik Gudbranson.
Interest in Phaneuf is bound to increase if the Leafs are serious about shopping him before his seven year, $49 Million extension kicks in on July 1.
With the acquisition of goalie Roberto Luongo from Vancouver last March coupled with the financial resources of new owner Vincent Viola, GM Dale Tallon will be a major player on the draft floor and in early July in free agency.
Reports on Thursday indicate that former Leaf coach Ron Wilson is a candidate for the vacant Panthers coaching job, which would only increase the interest in the Leafs captain, who played for Wilson for two years. That also would all but squelch any chance of Kadri going to the Sunshine State.
The list of quality blueline free agents may have gotten smaller on Thursday, as the NY Islanders traded a conditional draft pick to San Jose for former All-Star Dan Boyle.
New York made a similar move last month in acquiring the rights to goaltender Jaroslav Halak from Washington and then signing the pending free agent to a four year,$18 Million contract. While there is no guarantee that the 38-year-old Stanley Cup winner and Olympic gold medalist will sign with the Isles(GM Garth Snow traded for the rights to defenseman Christian Ehrhoff three summers ago but could not get him signed), the proactive move shows even more clearly that the number of impact defensemen available is at a premium.
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