The Toronto Maple Leafs started down the road of their rebuild with the trade of Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli to Nashville on Sunday and deals for pending free agents Daniel Winnik, David Booth, Korbinian Holzer and Olli Jokinen are likely to occur, but tantalizing talk about bigger names being moved in advance of the March 2nd trade deadline will not happen unless the club can get what they perceive as fair value.
“If and when there are deals there that make sense for us, to bring in players, whether it’s free agency or trades that will help us win or develop our team long term, then we’re gonna do it. But there isn’t a time frame on it.” Leafs GM Dave Nonis said regarding the team’s philosophy going forward on Sportsnet’s Hockey Central. “‘Scorched earth’ or ‘clean house’ is not the way the league works. You have to get value if you are to going to move players and there are players here on this team despite the fact we’ve gone through a very difficult time…that can be part of the solution.”
Florida Sun-Sentinel reporter Harvey Fialkov indicated via Twitter on Monday that the offensively challenged Florida Panthers have interest in Leafs winger Phil Kessel but that the club would not be willing to part with any of their young cornerstones like top five picks Aaron Ekblad, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau or Erik Gudbranson, big center Nick Bjugstad or defenseman Dmitri Kulikov.
Florida is just three points behind the Boston Bruins for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, in spite of being ranked 25th in the league with just 135 goals.
The likelihood of the pieces falling into place for a deal for Kessel in the next two weeks is unlikely, since the acquiring club would have to be able to fit the winger’s $8 Million salary under the salary cap and have the combination of young assets and a high draft pick to meet Toronto’s asking price.
Teams like Florida publicly may balk at giving up a top asset in a deal, but if they are serious about trying to acquire a five-time 30-goal scorer who has been in the top-10 of the NHL the last three seasons, that is likely what the price will be. By waiting until the summer, the Leafs will open up the bidding on the 27-year-old Kessel to teams not constrained by salary cap concerns or those who suffered setbacks by early playoff exits.
Sportsnet’s Damien Cox and Elliotte Friedman indicated over the weekend that interest regarding center Tyler Bozak has spiked in recent days, but the Leafs are not looking to dump the 28-year-old, who has three years remaining at $4.2 Million per season and may choose to hold onto Bozak until the summer if they cannot get a better return.
Recent speculation reported by RDS that Toronto has interest in young Canadiens forwards Michael Bournival and Christian Thomas may have been tied to interest in Franson, but also could have to do with Montreal wanting to add a veteran forward such as Bozak, the injured Joffrey Lupul or David Booth.
Montreal is another club starving for more offense, with the second lowest amount of goals scored for any club currently in a playoff position. The Habs are too dependent on goalie Carey Price and GM Marc Bergevin may be looking to add scoring depth as they did last year in acquiring winger Thomas Vanek from the Islanders.
Toronto is now expected to hold off in making any more moves until the last few days before the deadline, in order to maximize the return on the remaining pending free agents.
ESPN’s
Pierre LeBrun reports that Toronto is not close to moving forward Daniel Winnik yet, who has drawn interest from the Pittsburgh Penguins and Winnipeg Jets recently. The Leafs are believed to be looking for a second and third-round pick for Winnik or a second-rounder and prospect for the veteran winger.
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