Maple Leafs rumoured to be interested in one of Montreal's forwards
The Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive year after losing in the first round to the Montreal Canadiens, a team that entered the series as a major underdog. As a result, the Leafs are expected to make substantial changes in the offseason in order to avoid the same fate next season, but a contentious Toronto journalist suggested on Sunday that a smaller move could be on the team's radar.
Steve Simmons recently stated in his Sunday Notes column for the Toronto Sun that he believes the Leafs will pursue Canadiens forward Corey Perry this offseason. Simmons says:
Perry played a large role in the playoff success of Dallas last summer and fall and has been a strong contributor to the Canadiens through two rounds of the playoffs to date. It wouldn't be the least bit surprising to see the Leafs take another run at Perry in free agency this summer.
Simmons adds "another run" since there have been whispers linking Perry to the Toronto Maple Leafs since the Anaheim Ducks bought him out of his contract. Perry is now on a low-cost deal with the Canadiens, with a budget hit of only $750,000, and that's exactly the type of deal the Maple Leafs have been putting together of late. Simmons also suggested that veteran forward Joe Thornton may have played his final game as a Maple Leaf, if not his final game in the NHL, which would free up a spot on the Leafs' roster for another senior forward at a reasonable cost.
The question now of course becomes whether or not Perry himself will have any interest in playing for the Maple Leafs after this season with the Habs. He is currently on a deep playoff run with the Canadiens, who themselves would no doubt like to bring him back on a similar deal come next season, a team that just advanced past the Leafs in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
| POLL | ||
Will the Leafs and Habs make a trade this summer? | ||
| Yes | 73 | 43.7 % |
| No | 94 | 56.3 % |
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