Per report, Leafs could move a forward and a defender; rumours link Leafs to two players out west
With two months remaining until the NHL's trade deadline, we may see teams begin to open up for business, and rumour has it that the Leafs have already begun kicking some tires in Dallas and Seattle.
Per The Fourth Period, Leafs GM Kyle Dubas has reportedly already reached out to the Dallas Stars to inquire about one of the deadline's hottest commodities in defenseman John Klingberg. In addition, the Leafs are believed to have asked the Seattle Kraken about forward Calle Jarnkrok.
Klingberg, 29, owns a $4.25M cap hit this season and is due to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end. The right-shot blueliner could be just what the doctor ordered to shore up the right side in Toronto - especially since he's so good on the power play.
Jarnkrok, 30, carries a $2M cap hit for the remainder of this season before also heading to free agency this summer. Jarnkrok can play both center and wing, kills penalties and brings 63 games of playoff experience with him.
TFP also brought up the names of Nick Ritchie and Travis Dermott as two players that the Leafs could be looking to move sooner than later to try and clear some cap space. Ritchie carries a $2.5M cap hit this season and next, while Dermott's cap hit for this season and next is $1.5M.
The Ritchie experiment has been a failed one, with the former 10th overall pick falling short of expectations both from a physical standpoint and from an offensive standpoint. Meanwhile, Dermott appears to have been leapfrogged on the defensive depth chart by both youngsters Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren.
Dermott has been forced to the right side for much of this season, due to the emergence of Sandin on the left, but the trouble with Dermott playing on the right side appears to be that the right-handed Liljegren has proven himself to be the more effective there.
With Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman already having reported this week that the Leafs could be looking to clear some cap space, we may see a move sooner than later.
