Report: Leafs not done, working on a deal involving a current roster forward
Over the past month and a half, we have seen Sheldon Keefe slide Alexander Kerfoot lower and lower down the lineup, aside from the odd time when the lines were shuffled in-game. Given the depth of the forward group of the Leafs now, Kerfoot is looking more expendable as his versatility is not needed as much as it was before the team acquired Ryan O'Reilly, Sam Lafferty and Noel Acciari. All three of those players can play center and wing and kill penalties, which was Kerfoot's bread and butter.
Leaf reporter Mike Stephens of THN has reported that prior to the Leafs acquiring Luke Schenn from Vancouver, talks had been held between the two teams centered around Kerfoot and he reports that they are still discussing a potential trade for the versatile forward.
Kerfoot is in the final year of his contract and will be a UFA at the end of the season. Freeing up his $3.5M cap hit would give the Leafs some additional flexibility to make an additional move or two.
After a 51-point season last year, Kerfoot has struggled this season with just 7 goals and 26 points in 62 games so far. The Leafs have dealt several draft picks in the few weeks, so recouping a draft pick or two could be at the forefront of Dubas' mind if he doesn't intend to work out a player-for-player swap to attempt to upgrade over Kerfoot.
POLL |
MARS 3 | 416 ANSWERS Report: Leafs not done, working on a deal involving a current roster forward Will Kerfoot be a Leaf after today's 3pm deadline? |
Yes | 304 | 73.1 % |
No | 112 | 26.9 % |
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