In a crucial off-season where the Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to get better to push over their first-round hump, the team got word earlier of a trade request by none other than Nikita Zaitsev.
Now, many in Leafs Nation took this news with a lot of positivity and optimism. Zaitsev has been a defensive liability for a large portion of his time with the Leafs and he’s eating up a big chunk of the team’s limited salary cap with a terrible contract.
With five years still left on his contract worth $4.5 million annually, he’s been difficult to move, and with this recent news, it puts GM Kyle Dubas in the hot seat to finally try and trade him.