Darren Dreger Drops Key Update on Maple Leafs' Pursuit of Brandon Saad
NHL Insider Darren Dreger revealed that the Toronto Maple Leafs are heavy contenders to sign Brandon Saad after becoming a free agent earlier this week.
With a lot of talk about the different trades that the Maple Leafs can make to add to their forward depth in order to inject some offense into their lineup, it feels like some type of move is going to be made in the coming weeks.
But with the news that two-time Stanley Cup winner Brandon Saad is a free agent and entertaining offers, NHL Insider Darren Dreger has revealed that the Maple Leafs are very interested in trying to land the veteran winger.
Maple Leafs Have Serious Interest In Free Agent Brandon Saad
Dreger also noted that Saad will more than likely sign for a very cheap deal given he wants to play still and no team is going to offer him near the $4.5M deal he was getting.
It would be a perfect addition for Toronto not only because of the relatively cheap financial hit, but bringing in a player who has familiarity with Craig Berube, and proven playoff production is a very savvy move.
Though he's struggled this season as a member of the Blues, with only seven goals and nine assists, he would actually be Toronto's 10th leading scorer this season; a surefire sign the team needs some type of spark.
But for his career, Saad has been as reliable as ever with 260 goals and 255 assists in 906 games and has never had a full season where he did not score less than 10 goals not to mention his clutch factor with 47 career game-winning goals.
Saad also can get it done in the playoffs, with 55 points in 103 games as well as two Stanley Cups and made the NHL All-Rookie team in 2012-2013.
The veteran forward would most likely line up with Toronto's third line, and when Toronto gets their injured players back will probably see him lining up alongside Max Domi and Bobby McMann.
Knies -- Matthews -- Marner
Pacioretty -- Tavares -- Nylander
Saad -- Domi -- McMann
Lorentz -- Kampf -- Minten/Quillan
Saad's offensive capabilities will hopefully help Max Domi get his playmaking back on track, and with 30 games left in the season, that's more than enough time for both Saad and Domi to get things going.
The Maple Leafs need to make a move eventually, and whether it's trading for pieces or signing Saad; it looks like that's going to happen sooner rather than later.
