Thought #9: Signing Joe Thornton does not make Alex Kerfoot expandable.
Believe it or not, Alex Kerfoot is an extremely important piece of this Toronto Maple Leafs roster.
His do-it-all positional versatility gives Sheldon Keefe several different lineup options, and with him being above-average defensively, the head coach can trust Kerfoot to be a key member of the Toronto Maple Leafs penalty kill. Add in the fact he is annoying to play against and the Leafs have a great middle-six forward on their hands.
Having not played an NHL game since March, no one really knows how Joe Thornton is going to look come the start of the season. Him playing games currently with HC Davos in Switzerland is a good sign, however, Dubas is a bright young man and is not going to give up Kerfoot, who played alongside John Tavares for most of last season, for someone who most likely is the Leafs 4C.
Even if Thornton becomes the Leafs new 3C, Kerfoot can play the wing, and frankly may be better there. He and ‘Jumbo’ could form two-thirds of one of the best third lines in the NHL, along with Ilya Mikheyev (but that is for another day).
Contract wise, signing a player to a $700,000 deal does not necessitate another move to clear a $3.5 million contract off the books. When Travis Boyd was signed to the same deal as Thornton, there was no talk about moving Kerfoot to fit in his contract.
Dubas has other moves he could make to remain cap compliant and I would expect an Engvall trade perhaps or a demotion as a result of the new signing.
Thought #10: Stick around for the next edition!
And just like that, we conclude our first-ever
“31 Thoughts”
Toronto Maple Leafs: 10 Thoughts!
I hope you all enjoyed reading as I think aloud about my favourite team and look for the second edition in the next couple of weeks.