Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Rumour: Frank Vatrano

Do the Toronto Maple Leafs have an interest in Frank Vatrano from the Anaheim Ducks?

According to Elliotte Friedman from Sportsnet, the Toronto Maple Leafs have shown interest in the 28-year-old Ducks forward.

There is no secret that Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas would like to add secondary scoring.

However, with the time absolutely rolling, and with player such as Joey Anderson still not even getting a look, it’s doubtful the Leafs will do anything about it anytime soon.

Still, they’ve got to know what’s out there, and Vatrano is an intriguing player.

Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Rumours

Scoring from outside of the team’s top four players has been a problem. (Stats from hockey-reference.com) Alex Kerfoot has one goal in 24 games.  Pierre Engvall has five points.

Alex Kerfoot currently has one goal in 23 games. As a player who spent plenty of time playing with John Tavares earlier in the season, one goal is not good enough. Kerfoot has a salary cap hit of $3.5 million, and if he’s not going to produce the level of offense Toronto needs, he could find himself playing for a new team. He did score over 40 5v5 points last season, and it’s still early, but the Leafs need more from him.
(Salary cap info from capfriendly.com)

Frank Vatrano carries a $3.65 million cap hit. If Toronto decides he is the player they want to add, Kerfoot could be the odd man out. Kerfoot may not be part of the Vatrano trade, but he’ll need to get moved to make room for Vatrano’s cap hit. If Kerfoot does get traded to the Ducks in the Vatrano trade, they can always flip him for draft picks at the NHL trade deadline.

How Does Vatrano Fit on the Toronto Maple Leafs

Frank Vatrano has four goals and three assists for seven points in 22 games this season. During the 2021-22 season, he registered 18 goals and 14 assists for 32 points in 71 games. He is not the best option for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and with his cap hit being higher than Kerfoot’s this is a rumour that doesn’t seem very likely.

Vatrano was a 25 goal scorer, but it was five years ago.  The Leafs may see something in him they like, but from the outside he does not seem like a player they should pursue.

It will be interesting to see what Toronto GM Dubas does, but one thing is clear, he needs to add more secondary scoring. Although the defense and goaltending have sustained plenty of injuries this season, they seem to be holding on well. Adding some offense to the middle six needs to be addressed and should be Toronto’s main focus.