Maple Leafs ‘To Make Real Push’ for Waived Blues Forward
The St. Louis Blues officially parted ways with forward Brandon Saad and the veteran will officially become a free agent on Friday, meaning all NHL teams will have a fair shot at landing him. One of those franchises, the Toronto Maple Leafs, is among the teams expected to make a strong push to sign him. According to TSN’s Chris Johnston, discussing the topic during Thursday’s edition of “Insider Trading,” the Leafs are one of several teams with interest in the veteran winger, along with the Vegas Golden Knights, New Jersey Devils, and Tampa Bay Lightning. “One of the teams I expect to make a real push here would be the Toronto Maple Leafs,” Johnston said. “Obviously, Toronto’s in the market for a center, but interested in seeing if maybe Saad sees a fit for them as a potential wing option.”
The 32-year-old forward became available after mutually agreeing to a contract termination with the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
Saad had been waived earlier this week with the Blues aiming at placing him on the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds roster, but he refused to accept that, leading to the decision to part ways. As a result, he will walk away from the remainder of his five-year, $22.5 million contract, which had one season left after this one at a $4.5 million cap hit.
Toronto’s ability to sign Saad will depend on cap flexibility and how high Saad’s demands are for his new contract, whenever and wherever he signs it.
The Leafs currently have just over $2 million in space, but that figure does not account for players on long-term injured reserve, potentially adding a little over $6 million to their cap. “He’s not going to come cheap necessarily,” Johnston said. “He walked away from that money. He’s going to have options.” If Toronto makes room, Saad could provide the depth scoring the Maple Leafs have been looking for in the market to bolster their bottom-six forward corps. Saad, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, posted 26 goals and 42 points in 82 games last season, his highest goal total since 2015-16, and he has seven goals and 16 points in 43 games this season. It’s worth noting that there is a personal link between Saad and the Leafs, as he played under current Toronto head coach Craig Berube in St. Louis.
