When do the Toronto Maple Leafs pull the trigger on a defenseman?
TSN: With Jake Muzzin still out with a foot injury, and Morgan Rielly now out for two month, teams are calling the Toronto Maple Leafs to see if they are interested in any of their defensemen according to Bob McKenzie. The Leafs are likely calling some teams to see what could be out there.
With their break coming up, and Muzzin inching closer, the Leafs don’t have to rush into anything. Short-term has them light on the left side, but the right side is their long-term need.
“So the question the Leafs have to ask themselves and one that maybe other teams will be asking them as well, is are you prepared to trade Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson or Alex Kerfoot, those good young players at good contracts, for a likened contract on defence, a young defenceman. That is a hell of a needle to thread for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but that’s one of the questions they’re going to have to ask themselves.”
McKenzie adds that the Maple Leafs have held “very preliminary” talks with pending UFA Muzzin about a potential contract extension.
Bergevin won’t listen to calls on Price or Weber before the trade deadline
TSN: There has been speculation about the Montreal Canadiens possibly trading goaltender Carey Price or defenseman Shea Weber, but Pierre LeBrun reports that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.
“I can tell you this. You can stop speculating about that, because Habs GM Marc Bergevin told me on Tuesday he has no intention of thinking about trading Carey Price or Shea Weber and would not listen if a team phoned on Carey Price or Shea Weber before the trade deadline. And listen, he’s been on the record before saying that as this team gets younger, the leadership that Shea Weber and Carey Price provide for this team is important to him. He believes it works and he wants those two guys to be part of that.”