The Toronto Maple Leafs are rumored to be making a couple more moves before training camp opens and one trade pitch has them acquiring a gritty forward.
The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Maple Leafs acquire Josh Anderson from the Montreal Canadiens.
Maple Leafs get:
- Josh Anderson ($2.8 million retained)
Canadiens get:
- 2025 sixth-round pick
The trade pitch sees the Maple Leafs acquiring the veteran forward Anderson for a late draft pick. Montreal also retains salary as the Canadiens get off of his salary, and to make the salary work, the user also has David Kampf being dealt to the Anaheim Ducks in a separate deal.
Anderson is entering the fifth year of his seven-year $38.5 million deal. The forward is a power forward who can be physical and add some scoring to the middle of the lineup. Anderson recorded 9 goals and 11 assists for 20 points in 20 points in 78 games. In his NHL career, he’s skated in 535 games recording 131 goals and 92 assists for 223 points.
Montreal, meanwhile, would get off of Anderson’s contract which gives them more cap space to work with.
Maple Leafs Signed Veteran Winger to PTO
The Maple Leafs announced they signed veteran forward Max Pacioretty to a professional tryout on September 11.
Max Pacioretty will attend Maple Leafs training camp on a Professional Tryout (PTO)
Pacioretty had been linked to the Maple Leafs and he has agreed to a tryout which allows him to compete for a roster spot at training camp. The move comes after Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving hinted at his team making moves.
“To me, we’ve still got five weeks or so till camp. And, you know, we’re not set yet. We continue to look at ways to make our team better,” Treliving said August 14 on TSN 1050’s “OverDrive.” “I said at the end of the year we’re going to look at everything.
“Sometimes people fall in love with ‘let’s make a big change just to make a big change.’ At the end of the day, you can go out and make big changes,” Treliving added. “If they’re not making your team better, to me it doesn’t make any sense to just make a change just to stand up and say ‘look at it, we made this big change.’”
Pacioretty played with the Washington Capitals last season recording 4 goals and 19 assists for 23 points in 47 games. In his NHL career, he’s skated in 902 games recording 330 goals and 338 assists for 668 points.
Canadiens GM Happy With His Core Group
Montreal is in the midst of a rebuild and in the offseason, the Canadiens focused on re-signing their own players.
Montreal inked Juraj Slafkovsky and Kaiden Guhle to contract extensions who are both major parts of their core. Although the Canadiens didn’t make any splashes in free agency, Montreal general manager Kent Hughes is happy with his team.
“So if you can build an environment and a culture that people want to be a part of, where there’s a sense of ownership, belonging, communication and all the rest of it and a shared vision that they feel part of,” Hughes said on July 1. “Because we’ve been in a rebuilding process we haven’t had to really dive into the deep end on free agency. But, listen, I sit here and knowing what I know about Montreal, if I were a player I’d want to be in Montreal and I’m confident we can do that. That part of it doesn’t scare me. That’s on me to be able to share the vision and get them to buy into it and want to be part of it.”
The Canadiens have missed the playoffs in the last three seasons and will open its 2024-25 NHL season at home on October 9 against the Maple Leafs.
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Trade Pitch Sees Maple Leafs Acquiring $38 Million Forward From Rival