"The Toronto Maple Leafs and general manager Kyle Dubas have quite the puzzle to figure out this offseason. Again Dubas is up against the cap crunch while he tries to figure out a way to improve his talent on the blueline. All eyes are on free agency and if the Leafs will bring Alex Pietrangelo to Toronto, however in the meantime Dubas is cleaning up around the house. According to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, the team is close to signing one of it's forwards to an extension. LeBrun reports that the Leafs and forward Evan Rodrigues have had some "productive talks". Rodrigues was acquired in the Kasperi Kapanen trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After requesting a trade out of Buffalo, Rodrigues played seven games with the Penguins and scored a goal. The 27 year old has registered 72 points in 199 NHL games. He's currently coming off a one year deal that saw him earn $2million.
I'm told that Evan Rodrigues' camp has had ``productive talks'' with the Leafs. TBD whether that leads to a new deal. But safe to say the Leafs would want it to be lower than his $2M qualifying offer. If they don't QO him by the Oct. 7 deadline then he becomes UFA. — Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) September 28, 2020
