A Zaitsev trade could happen soon, or it could take a while
TSN 1050: Darren Dreger on Nikita Zaitsev: “It could happen this week, it may happen in Vancouver (at the draft) it may take the rest of the summer.”
Drag Like Pull: Dreger on TSN 1050 suggests that teams are concerned about Zaitsev’s play this past season and would want the Maple Leafs to a sweetener to take on his contract.
Maple Leafs Hot Stove: Darren Dreger on TSN 1050 on the Edmonton Oilers potential interest in Nikita Zaitsev. Not saying that there is any trade talk going on now involving the Oilers and Maple Leafs. The Oilers may be looking at moving a defenseman, so a bigger deal could make sense. Holland was interested in Zaitsev before he initially signed with the Leafs.
“I think there are a lot of tire kickers — a lot of teams with interest in Nikita Zaitsev — but to get specific to what Toronto’s return needs to be, they’ve got to get a defenseman. Whether they get that through Zaitisev and something else, or they move Kapanen or somebody else, that is yet to be seen. I still think that we are in the preliminary stages of anything happening with Zaitsev.”
Do the Leafs have to add a sweetener with Connor Brown or Kasperi Kapanen to create a bigger trade package?
Maple Leafs Hot Stove: Bob McKenzie on TSN 1050 on the trade interest in Nikita Zaitsev.
“I saw Dreger tweeting that after Vancouver had shown some interest in Zaitsev, now Edmonton is showing some interest in Zaitsev. You can kind of see where it’s going. Whether it’s Kapanen or Connor Brown, you know teams like Vancouver and Edmonton are probably — certainly Edmonton, anyway — if they are going to take Zaitsev and his contract, they are probably going to want to get a premium, whether that is Connor Brown or… and I’m not saying those are the talks they’re having — that’s not what I am saying — but those are the types of deals that teams like Edmonton will be looking at if they’re going to take a player like Zaitsev from the Leafs.”
