Before the Vancouver Canucks acquired Ethan Bear from the Carolina Hurricanes, the Toronto Maple Leafs also looked at a trade, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports, but weren’t willing to give up one of their few remaining draft picks.
“I think (the Maple Leafs) did take a look at it. I think the issue was, where Vancouver was willing to go that Toronto wasn’t, was the extra draft pick,” Friedman said Saturday during the 32 Thoughts segment on Hockey Night in Canada.
“With all the salary that the Leafs and the Canucks would have to take (in the trade), Toronto didn’t want to (add the extra pick) because one of the reasons is, if they trade one, they could have as few as three this year.”
The Maple Leafs have several injuries to their blue line. Defenceman Jake Muzzin is out indefinitely with a neck injury, both Timothy Liljegren and Jordie Benn are recovering from groin issues, and fringe NHLer Carl Dahlstrom is out another five months after receiving should surgery in September.
“Liljegren and Benn could be back next week,” Friedman said.
The Canucks landed Bear, who fell out of the Hurricanes’ top six and has yet to play this season, and forward Lane Pederson in exchange for a 2023 fifth-round draft pick.
Although Carolina retained 40 per cent of Bear’s one-year, $2.2-million contract, the Canucks still took on a $1.8-million cap hit.
Toronto owns one first-round pick, two third-round picks (one conditional), a fifth-round pick and a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.