Questionable source reveals that a Leafs/Oilers trade could be very close

Take this one with a huge grain of salt, folks, but Hockey 24/7 is reporting that a deal is in the works between the Edmonton Oilers and the Toronto Maple Leafs involving Jesse Puljujarvi and Justin Holl.

The reason I say take this with a grain of salt is because, to this point, none of the main verified sources have reported that such trade negotiations are under way. Hockey 24/7 may simply be throwing up darts at a dart board and hoping something will hit.

The deal does make some sense for the Leafs from the perspective of the Leafs needing a top-6 forward and the Oilers could definitely benefit from having a right shot defender who excels when defending against the rush. Where it doesn't make sense is that the Leafs are looking to free up cap space.. not go further into the red, which this deal would have them do.

Holl has one year remaining on his current contract, which carries a $2M cap hit. Meanwhile, Puljujarvi just signed a one-year contract with the Oilers, which carries a $3M cap hit. With the Leafs currently sitting at $1.49M over the cap, such a deal would put them at $2.49M over the cap with Rasmus Sandin still needing to be signed. The deal could make more sense from the Leafs' perspective if they had a subsequent deal lined up in which they would move Alexander Kerfoot for futures.


We'll continue to monitor the situation and provide any updates that may become available.