Insider Confirms Leafs' Interest in Two-Time Stanley Cup Champion Brandon Saad

On Wednesday afternoon, the St. Louis Blues confirmed that they would be terminating the contract of forward Brandon Saad after he passed through waivers unclaimed.

The contract termination frees up valuable cap space for the Blues and it allows Saad to explore other options to continue playing this season, perhaps even joining a Stanley Cup contender.

Saad played under Leafs head coach Craig Berube for two seasons and at the time of his termination, many fans speculated that there may be a reunion on the horizon for the player and his former coach.

That was confirmed on Wednesday evening by TSN's Chris Johnston during an appearance on TSN.

Saad was in the fourth year of a five-year deal he signed with the Blues in 2021, but the 32-year-old fell down the depth chart as the Blues looked to prioritize playing time for their younger players. They had tried to move him all season, but his $4.5M cap hit was difficult for teams to swallow.

With his contract being terminated, Saad will now have the opportunity to continue playing this season on a team of his choice and could be a very inexpensive pre-deadline add for a cap-strapped contending team like the Leafs.

Adding Saad to the bottom six would not only give the Leafs another option on the penalty kill, but some desperately needed secondary scoring as The Fourth Period's Dave Pagnotta noted late Wednesday night.

Although his $4.5M cap hit was tough for teams, especially the Leafs, to make room for, adding the former second-round pick on a league-minimum or close to minimum deal would easily fit into the Leafs' salary cap plans.

In 43 games with the Blues this season, Saad has tallied a respectable 7 goals and 16 points in the bottom six.