Team: 2021-22 Toronto Maple Leafs

Initial Creation Date: Jul. 9, 2021

Published: Jul. 9, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

After the Dermott signing I'm more convinced than ever that Holl is done in Toronto, I know Dermott's signing was needed to meet exposure requirements but he's younger than Holl, has the lower AAV and Dermott can play either side and doesn't need to be stapled to Muzzin to perform. To be fair to Holl, he does play very well when he's with Muzzin and is without a doubt an NHL caliber D on a decent contract but I hate that inflexibility in the lineup. All that said, Toronto's D corps likely can't bring back all the players they finished the year with. Next year I think they will likely have Rielly, Muzzin and Sandin on the left and Brodie, Liljegren (this is the year damn it!), and Dermott on the right. They then re-sign Bogosian or Hutton or sign another veteran UFA D as insurance. It would probably be in Toronto's best interest to force Seattle to take Holl off their hands by presenting him as the only decent option remaining.

Now if Toronto were to run the 4-4-1 protection scheme to protect Dermott which I think is the most likely scenario now, Seattle would claim Kerfoot since he's easily the best forward exposed and his cap hit means very little to the Kraken but I think Toronto rather salvage some value out of Kerfoot and will trade him for futures (prospects or picks) beforehand to a team who would value him and has the space to protect him from Seattle.

Now as many know, Kerfoot's actual salary owed is less than his AAV since Toronto always front-loads their contracts. This would make Kerfoot more valuable to cash-strapped teams like Ottawa or Arizona which leaves them as possible trade destinations but I think the most likely trade partner is the Detroit Redwings due to their projected exposure list, they can easily protect Kerfoot from Seattle, they have sufficient cap space, can use him in their middle 6 and likely flip him (possibly back to Toronto) at next year's trade deadline for even more assets.

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