The Toronto Maple Leafs dealt winger Kasperi Kapanen to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, and general manager Kyle Dubas likely isn’t finished making moves after another early ending to the club’s season.
The Leafs have been dangling four names in recent trade talks, with starting netminder Frederik Andersen highlighting a group that also includes forwards Andreas Johnsson, Pierre Engvall, and Alex Kerfoot, multiple NHL clubs confirmed to The Athletic’s James Mirtle.
Recently, it was reported that the Leafs starter was being shopped along with other players as they try to gain some assets and cap flexibility to make other moves. Now, it appears we have a potential landing spot for Andersen as the Carolina Hurricanes have shown interest, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
It’s not surprising to see the Hurricanes show interest in Andersen considering they don’t have a bonafide starter and were relying on a tandem of Petr Mrazek and James Reimer. Considering Carolina continues to make strides and has a strong defence, it’s not hard to understand why Andersen would be a target for them.
However, Friedman adds that the Leafs don’t have a desire to move Andersen and would only move him if they can find a clear upgrade. This is probably a scenario where the Leafs try to wait out the market and force a team like Carolina to pay a higher price when other options get scooped up.
If the Leafs do decide to move Andersen, it’s important for them to realize that they would need to find a replacement. Since joining the team, the 30-year-old has compiled a 136-66-33 record with a 2.77 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. That production isn’t the easiest to replace but it will also require the Leafs to explore various avenues.
With one year left on his deal at $5 million, Andersen should be able to fetch a decent return if the Leafs can draw up enough interest and that will likely mean a potential trade won’t be happening for a while. At the same time, no one expected a trade to be made during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
According to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun, Claude Lemieux, the agent for Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen said the player has “absolutely not” asked for a trade. Lemieux notes that any trade speculation “comes with the territory” after a team’s early exit from the playoffs but that Andersen has no desire to leave.
Lemieux adds that the team has not spoken to him about a potential trade even if there’s speculation the team might try to move Andersen before the final year of $5 million deal runs out.
There have also been no contract extension talks between the two parties.
Koshan writes:
The Leafs, who have a fine backup in Jack Campbell, have been linked to Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Matt Murray, who is a restricted free agent.
Among the NHL goalies headed for unrestricted free agency are Robin Lehner, Jacob Markstrom and Cam Talbot.
source – ‘Agent for Leafs’ Andersen knows trade speculation part of the deal after early exit’ – Terry Koshan – Toronto Sun – 08/26/2020