Maple Leafs Have Talked to Andersen About Possible Trade

Reports from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggest that the Toronto Maple Leafs, specifically GM Kyle Dubas, has already taken the time to chat with goaltender Frederik Andersen about possibly being traded.

As per Friedman’s report, the Leafs have told the netminder they are not actively shopping him other teams, but that the organization is getting calls about his availability and that they are listening to those calls and weighing their options.

Among the calls the Maple Leafs have reportedly fielded, Luke Fox suggests that the Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild, Calgary Flames and Buffalo Sabres “to name a few” are the most notable.

Rumors of the Hurricanes interest is not surprising as speculation leaked a while back they were looking to upgrade their goaltending situation. The Flames make sense as their tandem of Cam Talbot and David Rittich may not be around next season. The Wild have publicly declared they’re looking to upgrade and may buy out Devan Dubnyk, and the Sabres are always doing something.

Related: Maple Leafs Frederik Andersen Said to Be Prepping For Expected Trade

Andersen’s Reaction to the News

While Friedman didn’t note how Andersen took being told there was a good chance he could be traded, Chris Johnston of Sportsnet said early last week that the goaltender was already under the assumption a move was coming.

It wasn’t so much that Andersen wants to be traded, but he understands the optics of the Maple Leafs’ salary cap situation, their early elimination from the postseason and his contract status make him a trade target.

Andersen has one season left on a cap hit of $5 million, but an actual salary of only $1 million. He’s an attractive option for teams looking to hit the cap floor but not spend actual dollars to do so.

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