The Toronto Maple Leafs have some big decisions to make in the next few days, specifically when they get back from Sweden. Elliotte Friedman notes that Toronto did likely have a conversation with Patrick Kane, and with John Klingberg’s injury status being an ongoing concern, the team will have to determine his future.
Friedman noted during the Saturday Headlines report that Klingberg badly wanted to play while the Leafs were in Sweden, but he won’t be in the lineup as the team takes on the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. He said, “So I think that’s a situation about where they’re going to figure out where he’s going.” The options either include a trade or LTIR, the latter being more likely. From there, how long will he be out. Is the team putting him on “Robidas Island” and claiming he’s out for the rest of the regular season, and then looking to add a piece with his cap hit coming off the books?
Meanwhile, he noted, “With all the noise this week and all the craziness around Patrick Kane, I do believe a conversation with him either has happened or is on the radar. They are not commenting, they are radio silent about this.” He added, “I don’t expect Patrick Kane to be a Maple Leaf, I think they just wanted to talk with him and him to talk to them. I think he’ll sort it out over the next few days.” He noted that he does believe there was a conversation or there is one scheduled.
Maple Leafs Placing a Priority on Their Blue Line
“I think they’re more interested though in sorting out their back end,” said Friedman. The speculation is that they’ve talked to, or plan to talk to the Calgary Flames about adding one or both of Nikita Zadorov or Chris Tanev.
If Klingberg is placed on LTIR, it opens the door for the team to find the cap room to add one of them.
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