A recent report on the Flames could provide an interesting opportunity for the Leafs
The Calgary Flames has had hands down the best offseason of any club in the NHL this summer and I don't think it's even arguable, especially when you consider the circumstances.
Even as active as Flames GM Brad Treliving has been to re-tool his roster and bolster it through free agency and the massive addition of Nazem Kadri, Sportsnet's Eric Francis does not believe they're finished yet.
On Friday, Francis stated that he believes that the Flames are still looking to add another forward. Francis revealed that the Flames have 10 defensemen on one-way deals, which means 10 defensemen making NHL money instead of 3 or 4 making AHL money. He elaborated by stating that the Flames could look to move out a defender in favour of bringing in another winger to solidify their forward group.
I can't help but feel as though the Leafs might be an excellent place to start with Alexander Kerfoot on an expiring deal in Toronto. We have seen on a number of occasions where Dubas has essentially used the "own rental" philosophy and walk guys straight to free agency rather than to bring back an asset or two on a pending UFA.
The Flames have $2.1M in available cap space and once they move out a defenseman, they'll have closer to $3M in available cap space with a 21-man roster. If Treliving wishes to opt to roll with a 20-man roster, as many contending teams tend to do (due to the salary cap), he could conceivably fit Kerfoot's $3.5M AAV under the cap.
Kerfoot can play both center and wing, which is important for flexibility reasons. He has top-six experience from his time with both the Avs and the Leafs and he is also coming off of his most productive season to date.
From the Leafs' perspective, moving Kerfoot will free up space to re-sign Rasmus Sandin and still add one more depth forward. The Leafs currently have 8 defensemen on the roster without Rasmus Sandin being signed, so it's likely that they'll move out Justin Holl as well.
At the moment, the Leafs are $1.5M over the cap. Dealing Kerfoot would bring them up to $2M in the green and dealing Holl will increase their available space to about $4M - more than enough to sign Sandin and still add an impact forward like Sonny Milano, Evan Rodrigues or Paul Stastny. It also opens up the door for a potential trade if none of these names satisfies the Leafs' appetite.
| POLL | ||
20 AOUT | 625 ANSWERS A recent report on the Flames could provide an interesting opportunity for the Leafs Should the Leafs dangle Alex Kerfoot in front of the Calgary Flames? | ||
| Yes | 389 | 62.2 % |
| No | 115 | 18.4 % |
| Don't care | 121 | 19.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
