Magical Mystery Scouting Tour Continues, Plus UFA Updates

Toronto Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis’s magical scouting tour continues, as was reported last night by Elliotte Friedman during Hockey Night in Canada’s Saturday Headlines segment.

After spending some time in Nashville to take in the Predators-Ducks tilt on Thursday evening, Nonis popped up in a foreign press box once again yesterday to scout the Los Angeles Kings’ 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

It’s no secret that Nonis has been heavily scouting the Kings over the past few weeks. We’ve actually already discussed in detail what Kings pieces the Leafs might be most interested in. It’s good to see that trade talks haven’t broken down, since Los Angeles has a number of fantastic young players, and are in desperate need of some help. Then again, they also have Mike Richards, so…

Also, if you’re wondering why Dead Man Walking is still scouting players, take note – Dave Nonis is expected to remain on as the Leafs’ GM through the trade deadline. If you wanted him out, you’re likely going to have to wait until the summer.

Also according to Elliotte Friedman (or Damien Cox via Elliotte Friedman), the Leafs are no closer to resigning pending UFAs Cody Franson, Mike Santorelli and Daniel Winnik. Naturally, all of them are prime candidates to be moved before the trade deadline, though Cox (via Friedman) is also reporting that there’s been more and more talk about the possibility that Tyler Bozak could be moved as well. 

If the three (or four) of those players are moved, the Leafs could very well be flush with more picks and prospects in the very near future. It’s a hell of a way to kick start a rebuild.

I linked to it above, but you can also watch the full Saturday Headlines segment below…