The Globe and Mail’s Eric Duhatschek reports Monday that the deal that brought center Peter Holland to the Leafs on Saturday was a result of face-to-face negotiations between Toronto’s Dave Nonis and Anaheim’s Bob Murray at the GM Meetings last week.
Anaheim was open to moving Holland because 20-year-old Swede Rickard Rakell had jumped ahead of the 2009 15th overall pick on the organization’s depth chart. Ironically Rakell was selected 30th overall in 2011 which was the pick the Leafs obtained in the Tomas Kaberle deal from Boston. The Leafs flipped that pick along with their second rounder(which the Ducks used to select promising American goaltending prospect John Gibson) to move up eight spots to select winger Tyler Biggs.
The Leafs do not see Holland as a stop gap option up the middle, but as someone who could help the club’s depth in a position that has long plagued them.
“We look at the long term for him and we think he has the potential to be a long-term player for us. Whether or not he continues to contribute here will depend on his play.” Nonis said in an interview with the National Post’s Michael Traikos .
“From our standpoint, it(the trade) accomplishes two goals,” Nonis said of acquiring Holland. “It provides a centre for now that is capable of playing, but it also gives us depth at a position that we’re lacking. And he’s still on his entry-level [contract].”
With Bozak and Kadri expected back by the end of the week, Holland could be moved down to the third or fourth line in place of veterans Jay McClement and Jerred Smithson in a lesser role or could be demoted to the AHL Toronto Marlies to play top line minutes. The 22-year-old gives the Leafs the depth they lost when they traded Joe Colborne to Calgary for a 4th round pick in October. Colborne had to clear waivers to be returned to the AHL, which necessitated the deal to the Flames, but Holland is exempt from waivers for the remainder of the 2013-14 season.
Another interesting bit of information from Eric Duhatschek may provide a window into a possible deal involving Toronto and the Carolina Hurricanes. He reports that former Leafs blueliner Mike Komisarek and 2010 US Olympian Tim Gleason have been have been scratched for most of the season and that both defensemen would be available for the right price.
As was reported here, Carolina Director of Hockey Operations Ron Francis was at the Ricoh Coliseum to view the Charlotte - Toronto Marlies game on Saturday and may have been there for the purposes of scouting veteran defenseman John-Michael Liles, who scored two goals over the weekend in a pair of Toronto Marlies victories.
While the Leafs would have no interest in re-obtaining Komisarek and would likely have to pay a significant amount of Liles salary to facilitate a trade, a one-for-one swap for Gleason might be an answer for both organizations. Both players have two years remaining on their current deals and have comparable cap hits(Liles - $3.875 Million, Gleason - $4 Million).
The 32-year-old Liles is still a quality NHL defenseman, but is a victim of the fact that the Leafs are well stocked with offense-first blueliners(Cody Franson, Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly). The 30-year-old Gleason may be ready for a change of scenery after seven seasons in Carolina and does play a more stay-at-home, physical style that would fit better in Leafs coach Randy Carlyle’s defensive scheme.
Take a gander at Hockeybuzz colleague Matt Karash's take on the Liles rumors HERE
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Winger Phil Kessel was absent from practice Monday morning, but it was not because of an injury. According to head coach Randy Carlyle, the Leafs leading scorer is suffering from the flu and his status for Tuesday night's game against the New York Islanders at Air Canada Center is uncertain.
Listen to Leaf Buzz(recorded Sunday night) with myself and CTV's Norman James:
Leafs Quarterly Report Card Part II(The Forwards) coming up tomorrow.
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