Maple Leafs refuse to dangle this bait in trade battle against Edmonton

It was reported over the weekend by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs are both believed to be interested in Vladislav Gavrikov of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Both Canadian teams are focused on him, especially thanks to his contract and term as Gavrikov is a pending unrestricted free agent at a cost of $2.8 million (pro-rated for the remainder of this season). However, Toronto might lose the edge to Edmonton here, especially with Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen hoping to get a return package similar to the one he received in 2021 for renting stay-at-home defenseman David Savard (with 50 per cent salary retention) to the Tampa Bay Lightning (a first-round pick, a third-round pick) or what the Montreal Canadiens received for renting Ben Chiarot (again, with retention) to the Panthers in Florida at the 2022 deadline (a first-round pick, a fourth-round pick, plus prospect Ty Smilanic).

However, the Leafs reportedly refuse to dangle their first round pick to land Gavrikov despite the possibility of adding him to the roster long term: Kyle Dubas has said he doesn’t want to give up a first round pick. On Tuesday’s Insider Trading on TSN, Chris Johnston revealed that the Maple Leafs appear to be more focused on extending Conor Timmins who’s been a welcomed piece on the Leafs’ blue line, instead of trying to add to it ahead of the postseason.

“A little something to keep an eye on, they do have some interest in extending Conor Timmins to a contract, he’s a pending restricted free agent, acquired in November from Arizona, been a nice fit since he came over to Toronto and been quite productive in his time so we’ll see if they can get something done there.”

And so when it comes to Gavrikov and the Leafs refusing to show off that first round pick, Edmonton may be more aggressive… However, let’s not forget how it was reported that as many as 10 teams are kicking tires on the defenseman.

The Maple Leafs could always return to Gavrikov this summer when he hits free agency, especially if it gets confirmed that Jake Muzzin will never be back.

It remains to be seen if Gavrikov’s asking price remains astronomical, but we can understand why Dubas doesn’t want to enter a bidding war, and maybe the Oilers will end up walking away as well.

This Gavrikov chatter will be interesting to follow…

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