There are currently rumours swirling around the internet that the Toronto Maple Leafs would be interested in trading for Alex Kerfoot, which I find hilarious.
Alex Kerfoot spent four years with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a serviceable and underrated member of the organization. His point totals were a little lower than his tenure in Colorado, but the term "Swiss Army Knife" was always used when describing his game, which is commendable.
He could play fourth-line centre, but at the same time, kill a penalty-kill or jump to the first-line wing position if needed. NHL players who don't score or hit a lot but who are sneakily effective from a statistical standpoint (think Liljegren, Engvall, Kerfoot) don't often get much love by fans and are usually pretty underrated. However, one additional reason why many fans never loved Kerfoot was because of how he joined the Leafs.
In what some would describes as a bad trade in NHL history, Kerfoot, alongside Tyson Barrie, joined the Leafs in exchange for fan-favorite Nazem Kadri. Kadri went onto have an 87 point season, helping the Avalanche win a Stanley Cup, while Barrie and Kerfoot didn't win anything in Toronto.
The Maple Leafs Trading For Alex Kerfoot Would Be a Hilarious Transaction
Kerfoot was looked at as the replaceable to Kadri, but it wasn't fair to ever expect him to be anything like Kadri. They are opposite players, so Kerfoot continued to get criticized for expectations he was never going to live up to.
When the Leafs traded Kadri, I think they knew they were going to lose the trade, however it was one of those things they think they needed to do. The team lost two playoff series because Kadri made dumb plays to get suspended and then the same thing happened to Kadri in Colorado, so the Leafs were right to move on from him. However, the Avalanche were fortunate enough to persevere in Kadri's absence, which was something the Leafs could never do.
Now that we're almost two years removed from Kerfoot playing with the Leafs, I find it hilarious that the team may want to bring him back.
It's ironic that Kerfoot's speed, defense and all-round ability would help the Leafs right now. Their bottom six is filled with guys that are basically the opposite of him - the Leafs more or less eschewed all of the "cardio" guys their last GM loved and replaced them with guys who look like they're doing more, but don't necessarily.
If the Leafs couldn't get past the Second Round with Auston Matthews, John Tavares and Ryan O'Reilly as their three centres, do you really think they're going to do any better with Alex Kerfoot as O'Reilly's replacement? What is the fascination about bringing back players who used to play here, who weren't really good when they were here?
Kerfoot is a serviceable player who would be fine on this roster, but he's not a difference-maker. Like most names linked to the Leafs, he'd be fine if the was one of their lesser additions at the trade deadline - if the cost is cheap enough, sure, go ahead and replace Holmberg with Kerfoot, but if that's the pinnacle of what they do at the deadline, they are not going to win anything.
We only have a few years left with Auston Matthews under contract, so let's push all our chips into the middle and make a huge splash. Sorry, but Alex Kerfoot isn't that.