The Latest Rumours Surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs

It truly would not be the off-season without trade rumors surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs. That time of the year where Toronto is linked to everyone.

As soon as another team mentions that a player might be available, Toronto is linked to that player immediately.

It never seems to matter what the salary cap situation is like, or if the trade makes any sense at all, but you can bet on the Toronto Maple Leafs being mentioned.

Here is a look at all the recent rumors surrounding the team, plus some other Maple Leafs news.

Toronto Maple Leafs Rumours

Most of the recent rumors started after Chris Johnston from Sportsnet mentioned on the Steve Dangle podcast that Toronto will make at least one move for a big-name player.

"“There’s going to be like one player on this roster on opening night that is going to get everyone excited. I’m talking like a big name, a big promise player and no ones gonna see it coming,”"

Chris Johnston then dropped some hints as to the type of player Toronto will be looking to acquire. The player is from a team that missed the playoffs. they are on an American-based team, and they have multiple years left on their contract. (From the Steve Dangle Podcast on Youtube.com).

Now there are a ton of players that could fit under this category, but the two names that appear the most are Travis Konecny and Evander Kane.

First, let’s look at Konecny from the Philadelphia Flyers. He sure falls under the “big promise player” Chris Johnston mentioned. He had 61 points in 66 games during the 2019-20 shortened season, but only 34 points in 50 games this season.

He adds more offense to Toronto’s top six and would be an upgrade over someone like Ilya Mikheyev. He also has multiple years left on his contract with four more years at $5.5 million a season.

Now let’s look at Evander Kane from the San Jose Sharks. He would fall under the “Big name player” Chris Johnston mentioned. He has recorded 48 goals and 48 assists for 96 points in 120 games over the last two shortened seasons.

He adds more grit to the Maple Leafs roster, as well as that killer instinct that seemed to be missing from the team in the playoffs. There is one main concern when it comes to adding Kane to the team:

His contract that has four more years left at $7 million a season. Not sure how the Leafs would fit that in.

For the Leafs to acquire either of these two players, they would need to shed a lot of salary, so at this point, it seems pretty unlikely.

Another Couple Rumours

Sounds like the player from the Toronto Maple Leafs roster that interests the Seattle Kraken the most is Alexander Kerfoot. If Kyle Dubas decides to go with the format of protecting four forwards and four defensemen, then Kerfoot is likely gone.

If Seattle does indeed take Kerfoot in the NHL expansion draft, it would give Dubas an additional $3.5 million in salary-cap space. Toronto is currently projected to have just over $12.5 million in cap space according to capfriendly.com

Adding $3.5 million to their $12.5 million would give Toronto $16 million to work with this off-season to try and upgrade their roster.

Also, According to iSport, Toronto defenseman Martin Marincin is set to sign with HC Ocelari Trinec in the Czech league.

Marincin has spent the past six years in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. He played 142 games with the Leafs, and 79 games with the Toronto Marlies.  I

t isn’t fun to be out of the playoffs already, but if there are already four rumours regarding the team, it’s likely going to be an incredibly busy summer.