Rumor: Maple Leafs may target one of Montreal's forwards in the offseason.

Controversial Toronto journalist believes the Leafs may target the Habs.

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Published 2 years ago
Rumor: Maple Leafs may target one of Montreal's forwards in the offseason.
John Mahoney/Montreal Gazette

The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered another embarrassing and disappointing exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs after losing in the opening round to the Montreal Canadiens, a team that came into the series as a significant underdog. As a result there is an expectation that the Leafs will make significant changes in the offseason in order to avoid the same fate come next season, but on Sunday a controversial Toronto journalist pointed to a smaller move that may be on Toronto's radar.

In his most recent Sunday Notes column for the Toronto Sun, Steve Simmons indicated his belief that the Leafs may go after Canadiens forward Corey Perry during the upcoming offseason. From Simmons:

Perry played a large role in the playoff success of Dallas last summer and fall and has been a strong contributor to the Canadiens through two rounds of the playoffs to date. It wouldn’t be the least bit surprising to see the Leafs take another run at Perry in free agency this summer.

Simmons says "another run" run here because there have been rumors connecting Perry to the Toronto Maple Leafs ever since he was bought out of his contract by the Anaheim Ducks. Perry is currently on a very affordable deal, counting for just $750,000 against the Canadiens cap, and those are exactly the kind of deals the Maple Leafs have been rounding out their roster with as of late. Simmons also indicated that he believes veteran forward Joe Thornton may have played his final game as a Maple Leaf, perhaps his final game in the NHL altogether, which would open up a slot on the Leafs roster for another veteran forward at a relatively affordable price.

The question now of course becomes whether or not Perry himself will have any interest in playing for the Maple Leafs after this season with the Habs. He is currently on a deep playoff run with the Canadiens, who themselves would no doubt like to bring him back on a similar deal come next season, a team that just advanced past the Leafs in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

That being said Perry has reportedly expressed interest in playing for the Leafs since being bought out by the Ducks, but for whatever reason the two sides have been unable to come together to work out a deal over the last few seasons. It may be that, after a strong showing from Perry in the playoffs, the stars may finally align to bring the native of Peterborough, Ontario within the halls of the Leafs organization.

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