Maple Leafs reportedly preparing to trade for two San Jose Sharks players
An NHL insider is reporting that the Toronto Maple Leafs may be preparing to acquire two pieces from the San Jose Sharks, including defenseman Mario Ferraro.
With the NHL draft right around the corner, a lot of teams have taken a look at what is going to be available on the open market once the free agent frenzy begins and have turned their attention towards trade targets that will be made available ahead of the draft.
A few names of interest regarding the Maple Leafs would be a duo on the Sharks in the aforementioned Ferraro and forward Luke Kunin. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period noted that the Sharks plan on being very active and aggressive this summer and as they look to finalize a deal for a new head coach, GM Mike Grier is looking to improve his defense with the likes of Sean Walker and Dylan DeMelo among his top UFA targets.
With that being said, they are also taking calls and listening to offers on Ferraro and Kunin and Pagnotta mentions that the Maple Leafs had previously expressed interest in both players this past season. Ferraro in particular has a ton of teams involved including the Nashville Predators, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, and Chicago Blackhawks and he believes the Sharks asking price starts with a first round pick, a top prospect, and another high asset.
The price tag seems steep on Ferraro, but as we all know, a team can ask for whatever they want. What they end up getting is an entirely different story.
Ferraro, the soon-to-be 26-year-old is a Toronto-native, is coming off his best season to date with 21 points in 78 games played. He has 12 goals and 74 points in 330 games in 5 seasons and holds a minus-95 rating while averaging 21:15 TOI for a downtrodden Sharks club, though he is better than his numbers suggest.
Ferraro is under contract for 2 more seasons at a friendly cap hit of $3.25 million and would help plenty of teams looking for a top-4 defenseman. However, the asking price is very steep and it makes you wonder if the Leafs - or any other team - are willing to fork up that much.
As for Kunin, Pagnotta mentions that if the Leafs are truly interested in his services, they should act quickly because the player and team are currently working on an extension, but talks are at the preliminary stages right now.
The restricted free agent scored 11 goals and 18 points in 77 games played this season, averaged a career-high 15:44 TOI, played a lot of shorthanded minutes, and won 45.6% of his draws to go along with 60 blocked shots and 165 hits. Over his career he has 62 goals and 124 points in 359 games over his 7 seasons with the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators as well as the Sharks.
Both Ferraro and Kunin would address the Maple Leafs' lack of depth on both fronts and they would represent cheap options in terms of AAV as well. However, as Pagnotta mentions, if they intend to circle back and strike a deal, it needs to be done sooner rather than later with several teams in the mix, primarily for Ferraro.
Source: The Fourth Period
FERRARO A HOT COMMODITY FOR SAN JOSE
| POLL | ||
JUIN 11 | 301 ANSWERS Maple Leafs reportedly preparing to trade for two San Jose Sharks players Which player would you rather the Leafs focus on? | ||
| Mario Ferraro | 81 | 26.9 % |
| Luke Kunin | 11 | 3.7 % |
| Both can be acquired | 100 | 33.2 % |
| Neither | 109 | 36.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
