Report: Leafs will make a pitch to get Landeskog if hits Free Agency, as long as they move Kerfoot
The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta dropped a bombshell on Wednesday, indicating that the Toronto Maple Leafs were preparing to unload Alex Kerfoot and his $3.5M salary in an attempt to free up enough cap space to potentially take a run at Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog if he makes it to free agency.
Pagnotta reported that the Avs had apparently made a pitch to Landeskog in the $5M-$5.5M range, which is likely much lower than the 28-year-old is willing to go. The two sides remain far apart in negotiations.
If true, the Leafs, who are also preparing to lose Zach Hyman and potentially Frederik Andersen to free agency will either attempt to trade Kerfoot prior to the July 17th transaction freeze or expose him in the expansion draft in hopes that Seattle selects him and takes his salary off the books in Toronto.
While I'm not sure that there's a logical fit there, given Landeskog's potential asking price, apparently he does live near Toronto during the offseason. Perhaps it's a matter of if things can't work in Colorado, maybe he looks at his second home in the GTA and views the Leafs as another viable landing spot.
I really don't know how the Leafs can afford to do this without moving one of the big four.. I suppose we'll have to wait and see how it all plays out. This one seems pretty far-fetched from where I'm standing.
