{"id":954030,"date":"2026-11-01T06:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T06:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/954030\/"},"modified":"2026-11-01T06:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T06:20:09","slug":"maple-leafs-talk-kucherov-trade-possibility-after-win-over-canucks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/954030\/","title":{"rendered":"Maple Leafs talk Kucherov trade possibility after win over Canucks"},"content":{"rendered":"

VANCOUVER \u2014 Darren Raddysh was enjoying a nice breather after Friday\u2019s intense Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> practice at University of British Columbia when he was alerted to some big news regarding a longtime teammate.<\/p>\n

Nikita Kucherov<\/a> \u2014 the Lightning\u2019s all-time leading scorer and reigning NHL MVP \u2014 had requested a trade out of Tampa Bay, a dramatic step resulting from a contract negotiation stalemate with GM Julien BriseBois.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought maybe it was April Fool\u2019s Day,\u201d Raddysh told Sportsnet.ca Saturday, following a rather necessary 4-2 road win over the Vancouver Canucks. \u201cBut, yeah, I know how he is, and I know how Julien is. And if they don\u2019t want to come to something, that\u2019s maybe how it\u2019s going to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish nothing but the best for both of them, so hopefully, maybe they get something resolved. Or they move on. But we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Elliotte Friedman bombshell<\/a> of Raddysh\u2019s old power-play pal wanting to move on from the only club he\u2019s played for has rocked the league and sent rival GMs scrambling to see if there is a way to assemble a package and pry the six-time 100-plus-point dynamo out of Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously shocks everyone. Don\u2019t know, really, what\u2019s going on there,\u201d another Bolt-turned-Leaf Nick Paul told us. \u201cI mean, yeah, just was shocked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once the shock wears off, the work begins.<\/p>\n

BriseBois states that he has no intention to trade his 33-year-old cornerstone. Yet the two sides remain millions apart on an extension.<\/p>\n

Kucherov\u2019s agent, Dan Milstein, tweeted that it is \u201cunlikely<\/a>\u201d his client will follow the path of Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck and stop suiting up for Tampa.<\/p>\n

Coach Jon Cooper said<\/a>\u00a0Kucherov \u201cwants to be a part of this team for this season and he is committed to be with the group that loves him and the group he loves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Russian star has a list of 10 teams to which he can approve a deal.<\/p>\n

While the Leafs were defeating the Canucks and Canadiens defeating the Penguins Saturday, Friedman reported that he believes both Canadian landing spots, featuring key Russians, would be considered by Kucherov.<\/p>\n

The great trick, of course, would be compiling a trade package attractive enough to convince BriseBois to deal such a difference-maker to a divisional rival.<\/p>\n

Of the two teams, Montreal has far and away a deeper and more varied cupboard of picks, prospects, and players to deal. The Canadiens already have had interest in a Larkin blockbuster.<\/p>\n

Toronto GM John Chayka hasn\u2019t shied from blockbusters, though. His September swing of Matthew Knies\u2013for\u2013Kirill Marchenko was aided by Milstein, who worked an extension into the deal.<\/p>\n

Chayka also made a strong pitch for Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski in the off-season and has often gone on record about his desire to acquire game-breaking talent.<\/p>\n

Never has a reigning Hart\u00a0Trophy winner be traded in-season.<\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs would need to shed a significant chunk of their committed 2027-28 salary and part with what little is left of their minimal trade pieces to make such a pie-in-the-sky move work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be unbelievable to get him. He\u2019s easily one of the best players in the world. And the way he goes about his business, I think it would be awesome to have him,\u201d Raddysh said, smiling wide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s hard to look into those things. You never know what’s really going to happen,\u201d Paul added. \u201cBut, I mean, he’s a great player, and that\u2019d be great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Captain Auston Matthews is just one the many of the league\u2019s elite who has long admired Kucherov\u2019s game. The Russian has a reputation as your favourite player\u2019s favourite player.<\/p>\n

Raddysh played parts of five seasons, including his breakout 2025-26, alongside the winger. And once the defenceman joined the Leafs, his new teammates wanted insight into the notoriously private playmaker.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust hearing what the guys here talk about him and all the questions that they have about Kuch and the way he plays, he\u2019s in his own world,\u201d Raddysh said. \u201cLike, the season ends, and a week later he’s on the ice two hours a day for the rest of the summer. And he just wants to be the best at everything he does.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA perception everyone kind of has of him is, oh, he might be grumpy, or he might be angry at his teammates. But I think he just wants the best from each and every one. And I learned that pretty early on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you’re trying to do the right things, he’s going to keep trying with you until you do it right. If you don’t try, then he’ll move on to something else or someone else. So, I think he just wants to be the best, and that’s just how he operates.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Paul got traded from division rival Ottawa to Tampa in 2022, it was Kucherov\u2019s work ethic that was most eye-opening.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust seeing him, what he does to be that player he is, what goes into that. He just works at it every single day,\u201d Paul said. \u201cThere is a reason why he\u2019s that good.\u201d<\/p>\n

And a reason that Kucherov will get paid by another team, if BriseBois doesn\u2019t bridge the gap and up his offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, I\u2019d open my arms pretty wide to have him join,\u201d said Raddysh, probably speaking for Toronto and, oh, about 31 teams. \u201cBut, yeah, to add him to this group would be awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Jim Hiller was asked if the Maple Leafs have found a consistent identity this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no, no. I don’t think so. No, I think we’ve been inconsistent. Too inconsistent,\u201d the coach replied. \u201cWe\u2019ve had some great moments in games, and we\u2019ve had some times where we just haven’t had a good pushback. So, that has to be addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Hiller juggled three wingers in his top nine well before the Saturday\u2019s game had reached the halfway mark.<\/p>\n

William Nylander was promoted to Matthews\u2019 loaded top line, while Gavin McKenna, Colton Sissons, and Dakota Joshua \u201cwere really effective,\u201d on an on-the-fly unit that has never practised as a trio.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s probably the most Gavin\u2019s had the puck in the O-zone in a game,\u201d Hiller observed. \u201cIt was dangerous. So, really like the looks of that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get things mixed up a little bit coming out of different penalties. And once we got that going, looked like it worked pretty good. So, we stuck with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bruising Joshua led all skaters with seven hits and five shots in his season debut. McKenna was tied for second on the Leafs with three shots.<\/p>\n

Toronto\u2019s top nine remains in a permanent state of flux with top-six staples John Tavares and Marchenko sidelined.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s a lot of minutes. It’s not just that you’re filling 10 or 12 minutes. Those are big minutes,\u201d Hiller said. \u201cSo, yeah, I don’t know that we’re completely settled with that yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 If you\u2019re a casual hockey-watcher who can\u2019t tell forward Elias Pettersson and defenceman Elias Pettersson apart by their sweater numbers, fear not.<\/p>\n

Elias Pettersson\u2019s nameplate reads \u201cPETTERSSON\u201d while Elias Pettersson\u2019s nameplate reads \u201cE. PETTERSSON.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2022 Hiller grew up a Canucks fan in Port Alberni, B.C. In the \u201970s, Hiller\u2019s guy was Chris Oddleifson<\/a>, the franchise\u2019s second-ever captain. Then Wayne Gretzky popped on the scene one province over, and Hiller was kind of on the fence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love being here. Friends, family, all that kind of stuff. I\u2019ve got a lot of people in Vancouver that I know,\u201d Hiller says. \u201cFirst NHL game as a young guy, my dad brought me to the Pacific Coliseum. I remember that like it was yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 About a 15-minute walk from Rogers Arena lies a sports bar called Malone\u2019s<\/a>. Every Thursday night they give away a free pair of lower-bowl Canucks tickets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To win said tickets, you must write the name of any Canuck, past or present. Your hockey pseudonym must be one of eight selected. Then you must outlast the other lucky seven in a proper faceoff tournament.<\/p>\n

Yep, they have a faceoff dot painted on the bar floor and a quiver of righty and lefty curves to choose from. Brilliant contest. Way better than a random draw or trivia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"VANCOUVER \u2014 Darren Raddysh was enjoying a nice breather after Friday\u2019s intense Toronto Maple Leafs practice at University…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":954031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[49,48,3302],"class_list":["post-954030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=954030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/954031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=954030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=954030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=954030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}