As perhaps the most underrated piece of this week’s seminal trade between Toronto and Colorado Avalanche, the Maple Leafs announced this morning that they had come to terms on a four-year contract with former RFA centre, Alexander Kerfoot. The average annual value of the deal is reported to be $3.5 million.
Kerfoot’s signing sets the Maple Leafs up splendidly moving forward. While the organization indeed paid a hefty price for his services by sending Nazem Kadri to the Avalanche, Kerfoot now gives Kyle Dubas a young, defensively responsible, cost-controlled centre who will be locked down until the end of the 2022-23 season and will cost a full $1 million less than the player he will ultimately be replacing.