MAJOR UPDATE: Possible trade offer by the Maple Leafs for Nikita Zadorov

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Pat Quinn
November 15, 2023 (9:34)

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It is reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs have an offer on the table for Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames.

What is the current rumoured offer between the two, and who else is in on Zadorov

According to Mark Pye of Hat Trick HQ there is an offer for Zadorov from the Leafs and there are other teams involved

"They do have an offer in place, and they're just waiting on the Flames. So when you do look at this, Zadorov is a guy that a lot of teams are looking at. There's a lot of speculations that the team like the Edmonton Oilers might look at him. The Vancouver Canucks have been heavily rumored, or the Florida Panthers were another team as well.

And if you want to look at how truly said it was, a lot of snarl to his game. So this is a guy that's going to be highly sought after. But the big thing with this is too, a lot of teams are looking to acquire this guy. It might turn into a bidding war, but it is reassuring to see that Treliving, the Leafs management has made an offer on this guy."

With the Leafs currently in Sweden, it is logical to assume any trade deal would be put on hold until they return so do not expect anything until they are back in North America.

Mark Pye reports some players he believes are invovled in the deal.

"A lot of people are speculating that John Klingberg would be a part of this package. If things look good [in Sweden], if Klingberg's outstanding, maybe they look at another package where you send a couple other players out instead of Klingberg.

A deal [...] that would make sense for both parties would be Toronto getting Nikita Zadorov with no money retained and Calgary getting John Klingberg, Nick Abruzzese, and a third-round pick.

Abruzzese is a guy who the Leafs did draft fourth overall in the 2019 draft. He's 24 years old. He only had a brief stint of eleven games in the NHL, but just last season. If you are looking at this, he did put up two assists in his two games, and he's having an outstanding year for the Toronto Marlies right now.

If they do move Zadorov out. They could keep a guy like John Klingberg, boost the power play, and then they also get the third-round pick. I know there was a lot of rumors too that Toronto was looking at maybe a Zadorov and Tanev. Obviously, there would be more salaries going out."

With Klingberg involved in the Zadorov swap, the caps hits would almost line up. The Leafs would likely have to retain some salary as both teams are right against the cap (or over thanks to LTIR), and have little to no wiggle room.

Mark Pye highlighted how a deal like this would have little effect on the Leafs roster.

"The big thing here is Bobby McMahon can still stay on the team and Ryan Reaves as well. Then when you look at the defense, it would still be Morgan Rielly, TJ Brodie, Nikita Zadorov, Jake McCabe, Mark Giordano, Conor Timmins, and Liljegren. This is with Timothy Liljegren on the LTIR right now.

His injuries should keep him out till the new year, so Leafs wouldn't have to worry about Cap. But in the situation, if he did come back, you could still bury a guy like Ryan Reaves in the AHL, bring Timothy Liljegren up and just ultimately, I would feel a lot more comfortable with these lines right here than I would with what the Leafs are running right now.

Liljegren's been outstanding so far. A guy like Klingberg has looked fine in his past game. He has shown flash as a potential, but I think this would be your stereotypical what you want in the playoffs. You get a defensive guy on every line. You get Timmins, you get Liljegren to kind of slot into that third pairing whichever way you want it to look at it."

Is this a deal Toronto should do to shore up the blueline

In Mark Pye's own words he is a fan of this deal.

"And ultimately, I think this is what Toronto needs. I think this is a deal that Brad Treliving needs to do. I think this is if Calgary has his offer on the table. I know there's going to be a bit of a bidding war, but with Treliving's experience with Calgary, with being the recent GM, I think he has a lot of ties with his organization.

Still, Zadorov was a guy that he brought into Calgary. Obviously, he loves this player. He loves his style. So I think ultimately we do get this deal done. I think this is going to be a deal that comes after they return from the trip to Sweden. And I think this is the missing piece to Toronto."

The deal would shore up the blue line for Toronto, but there is a reason Zadorov is fifth in defenseman ice time in Calgary, and it is not because there are a lot of better options ahead of him.

Ultimately if the Leafs want Zadorov they will have to move on from players with similar contracts. Those being Brodie and Klingberg on defense, or one of the newly signed one-year UFAs at forward in Domi or Bertuzzi.

As Watched On YouTube - Leafs make HUGE Zadorov trade offer...