Contradictory Report Confirms Maple Leafs Very Much in the Running for Ex-Blues Forward
Photo credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-Imagn Images
The Maple Leafs are reportedly one of four teams that are heavily pursuing two-time Stanley Cup Champion and former St. Louis Blues forward Brandon Saad.
On Thursday's edition of TSN's Insider Trading, NHL Insider Chris Johnston confirmed that the Leafs had interest in the 32-year-old Saad, despite their top organizational task being to find depth at the center position.
Later in the day, however, Darren Dreger revealed that the Leafs had a 'moderate' interest in signing the former second-round pick due to the struggles he was having this season and the always relevant salary cap conundrum.
On Amazon Prime's 'Coast to Coast' show, Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli noted that the Leafs are indeed one of four teams making a big push for Saad's services.
"When you're looking at some of these teams that are looking for some secondary scoring help -- a team like the Toronto Maple Leafs for instance, their first goal is to get a third-line center and help down the middle. However, [with] the ability to add some secondary scoring punch, they are going to be interested in doing something like that, so long as it doesn't squeeze them out of tackling the first goal on their list. So, it'll come down to cap space.'
The Leafs, along with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights and New Jersey Devils, are all heavily in the running to sign the soon-to-be free agent, thanks in large part to the lack of assets they would have to give up to add secondary scoring, penalty killing, speed and physicality to their bottom six.
Saad will be eligible to sign with a team of his choosing after 2pm on Friday when his contract is officially terminated by the Blues.
Saad has skated in 43 games with the Blues this season and has tallied a respectable 7 goals and 16 points in the bottom six, but had success his first two seasons there under now Leafs' head coach Craig Berube.
Given the familiarity between Saad and Berube, and the lack of production from anyone not named Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, Mitch Marner or Matthew Knies, the Leafs may indeed have prioritized adding someone like Saad, who is able to jump right into the lineup and help spark the offense in the bottom six.
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