Maple Leafs, Canadiens chasing Russian free agent Konstantin Okulov

Chris Johnston and Elliotte Friedman break down the latest news from around the NHL, with the Maple Leafs facing roster decisions as injured players return and the Minnesota Wild struggle.

Konstantin Okulov has been garnering a lot of interest from NHL teams this season and it appears that two rival Canadian teams are among the favourites to land the Russian free agent.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens have been scouting the 24-year-old and are looking to bring him over to the NHL next season, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported during the Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada.

While there are a lot of NHL teams interested in offering a deal to Okulov, some are not too confident in their ability to recruit the forward.

“Other teams believe that Montreal and Toronto are the two favourites for this forward who’s playing with Red Army this season,” said Johnston. “Some of these teams are, you know, wondering if it’s even worth engaging with his camp about trying to bring him over next season.”

The 24-year-old has five goals and 13 points in 17 games this season after scoring a career-high 20 goals and 31 points in 48 games last year. He also helped the Moscow club capture the KHL Gagarin Cup with seven goals and 14 points in 19 playoff appearances.

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