Toronto Maple Leafs: Assessing Viable Landing Spots for Patrick Marleau
By Kyle Cushman
Arizona
If there were any experts in the NHL in taking on a bad contract to acquire an asset, the Arizona Coyotes and general manager John Chayka would be at the top of the list.
With a resume of Pavel Datsyuk, Dave Bolland, and Marian Hossa, Arizona has not been afraid to take on a cap hit in order to acquire an asset. Despite Patrick Marleau’s intention to play in 2019-20, unlike previous acquisitions made by the Coyotes in this scenario in the past, Arizona has been mentioned as an interested club.
The Coyotes’ history makes them a likely trade candidate, as does their proximity to San Jose (975km). From a Toronto perspective, Arizona would be near the bottom of the list of preferred trading partners, however, as it would take a legitimate asset to get Arizona to take on Marleau’s $6.25 million on roster cap hit this season.
In the past, Arizona has been able to move up in the first round to draft Jakob Chychrun, get Lawson Crouse out of Florida, and pry Vinnie Hinostroza out of Chicago in these trades.
Contrary to popular belief, Arizona doesn’t need to add money to hit the floor, another difference to the situation this time around. In fact, they have just under $14 million in cap space, but with no significant RFAs could be a player this offseason with room to use.
Set defensively, Arizona is looking towards adding offence this summer. To take Marleau’s contract, Chayka will be looking to add an asset that the Leafs don’t want to part with. Could the asking price be Kasperi Kapanen? Andreas Johnsson? What about a prospect such as Jeremy Bracco?
If this were to happen, the Toronto Maple Leafs would receive something in return, likely a moderately high draft pick. Still, losing Kapanen or Johnsson to move Marleau’s cap hit would not only be an extremely tough pill to swallow but would also defeat the purpose of clearing space in the first place.
The key point is this: Arizona is interested and is the fourth closest NHL team to San Jose. If the asking price lowers, or shifts towards a draft pick, the Coyotes could still be a very likely destination for Patrick Marleau.