The true price that the Leafs paid to keep Alex Kerfoot and why Leafs Nation should be angrier than they are
In the summer of 2019, the Leafs knew that they were going to trade fan favourite Nazem Kadri. After suspensions in back-to-back years had cost the Leafs a chance at advancing past the first round against Boston, Kyle Dubas felt as though the Leafs needed a change. As it turns out, Shanahan and the board felt the same way, as Dubas was granted permission to seek a trade which would send Kadri west.
Despite Kadri's reputation around the league of being a scrappy player with a hot temper, he was very arguably worth more than what the Leafs ended up getting for him in Colorado, with a deal being centered around Tyson Barrie and Alexander Kerfoot coming back. The deal, right from the get-go, was an underwhelming one, even if there was some excitement surrounding the idea that Barrie, a right-shot blueliner who excelled on the power play, could really help the team.
In the end, when all was said and done, Barrie under-delivered, be it by his own hand or by his deployment under then head coach Mike Babcock. Kerfoot, on the other hand, was a steady, versatile C/W, who could both chip in on the power play and help the team's penalty kill. He was not without his benefits to the team, but he was far from a catalyst either.
Through a few more years of disappointment, the Leafs came to a point where they could have jettisoned Kerfoot simply by exposing him in the Seattle expansion draft. However, they sought out a deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins to acquire another versatile option in C/W Jared McCann, arguably a much better option than Kerfoot, exploiting the Pens' need to move a player that they didn't want to move for nothing. The move had the potential to be an absolute HEIST for the Leafs, except for the fact that the team chose to protect Justin Holl instead, leaving both Kerfoot and McCann available in the expansion draft.
During the Leafs' "All or Nothing" Amazon Prime docuseries, it became clear that the whole idea for acquiring McCann was to be able to retain Kerfoot, knowing full well that the Kraken were likely to select McCann. The price that the Leafs paid to make this happen, in their minds, was prospect Filip Hallander and a 7th round pick. However, the real cost was Jared McCann. How any executive in Toronto thought that this was a wise move is beyond me. Obviously, McCann has become a star in Seattle and now the Leafs are on the cusp of losing both Holl and Kerfoot to free agency, and only have 1 playoff round win to show for it.
For those who might be curious, here's the real price that the Leafs paid to keep Kerfoot:
There's no way to sugarcoat it; that's just horrendous asset management. If the Leafs simply protect Jared McCann, exposing Kerfoot and Holl, the Kraken likely select one of them. If they select Kerfoot, the Leafs would have saved $600K against the cap, as McCann earned just $2.9M at the time. If the Kraken had chosen Holl, big deal. He wasn't a factor in the series against Tampa last year, nor was he a factor in either series this year against both Florida teams. You know who might have been a factor? Jared McCann.
Honestly, it's probably a good thing that Dubas is now gone and that we'll have a new general manager coming in. Maybe this GM will be able to better manage his assets in a trade and won't be so loyal to a player making $3.5M who doesn't move the needle on a nightly basis.
| POLL | ||
MAI 26 | 1813 ANSWERS The true price that the Leafs paid to keep Alex Kerfoot and why Leafs Nation should be angrier than they are Do you think Alex Kerfoot remains in Toronto this summer? | ||
| Yes | 241 | 13.3 % |
| No | 1333 | 73.5 % |
| Please God, no! | 239 | 13.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
