Toronto native and former Leaf could be a prime PTO target for the Buds
You may remember the Leafs trading Kasperi Kapenen to Pittsburgh in August of 2020. The return was not only a first round pick, which the Leafs used to select Rodion Amirov, but also middle-six forward Evan Rodrigues, Filip Hallander, and defenseman David Warsofsky.
The Leafs were hopeful they would be able to agree to a contract with Rodrigues at the time, but were unable to. Rodrigues ended up back with the Penguins the past two seasons. Currently unsigned, Rodrigues will likely be heading to a training camp on either a short-term "prove it" deal or a PTO and Elliotte Friedman reported on the 32 Thoughts Podcast that his situation will likely be resolved this week. He mentioned that Calgary has been interested in Rodrigues, but they may not have the flexibility to bring him into camp. Friedman then went on to mention that one or two other Canadian teams are interested.
Given that the Leafs specifically acquired Rodrigues in the Kapenen trade a few years ago, but didn't have the room to sign him, it wouldn't be surprising if Leafs GM Kyle Dubas inquired about the possibility of either a PTO or a straight up 1-year deal to fill a hole in their top six and buy the Leafs some time to further develop Nick Robertson and/or Matthew Knies.
Rodrigues is coming off of a 19-goal, 43 point campaign with the Penguins last season and would be a welcomed addition to the Leafs' middle six. The Leafs still need to move out money to be able to sign Rasmus Sandin as well, but that won't stop them from being able to bring him in on a PTO and moving money around during or after training camp if it works out.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 6 | 404 ANSWERS Toronto native and former Leaf could be a prime PTO target for the Buds Should the Leafs bring in Evan Rodrigues to buy themselves some time to continue developing Robertson and/or Knies? | ||
| No | 74 | 18.3 % |
| Yes | 179 | 44.3 % |
| Just give the spot to Robertson | 124 | 30.7 % |
| Rotate wingers until Knies is signed | 27 | 6.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
