The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the Stanley Cup favorites and a trade pitch has them acquiring a young center to bolster its roster.
Maple Leafs acquire:
- Dylan Cozens ($1.2 million retained)
Sabres acquire:
- David Kampf
- Roni Hirvonen
- 2026 first-round pick
- 2027 first-round pick
The proposed deal would be a blockbuster, as Toronto acquires Cozens for an NHL player, a prospect, and two first-round picks. It’s also a deal that makes sense for both teams.
Cozens is in the second year of a seven-year $49.7 million deal. The 23-year-old could be Toronto’s third-line center and be a potential replacement for John Tavares in the future if he doesn’t re-sign. Cozens has skated in 34 games recording 7 goals and 8 assists for 15 points.
Kampf, meanwhile, is a fourth-line center and is in the second year of a four-year $9.6 million deal. The forward is a good defensive center and will help kill penalties for the Sabres, while could be used as trade bait going forward.
Hirvonen, meanwhile, was selected in the second round of the 2020 NHL draft. He’s playing in the AHL as he’s skated in 25 games recording 6 goals and 5 assists for 11 points. He would have a chance to make his NHL debut with the Sabres and be part of their young core.
Maple Leafs Without Star Centerman
Toronto captain and star forward Auston Matthews remains out with an injury.
Matthews missed a couple of weeks early in the season due to an undisclosed injury. He reaggravated it on December 20 and has now missed back-to-back games.
“He will not play (today), that’s the update,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “He’s going to rest here over the break and hopefully he comes back in a lot better shape. He gets relief at times, but it’s not good enough.”
How serious the injury is, is uncertain. But, if he is out long-term, Toronto could place him on LTIR and use the cap space to acquire an impact player like Cozens.
The Maple Leafs don’t play again until December 27, but Berube isn’t sure the timeline for Matthews.
“I got to wait to see how he responds here for the next few days,” Berube said.
Matthews has skated in 24 games recording 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points.
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