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NHL trade rumors: 3 teams who should trade for Nikita Zaitsev

By Dave Stevenson

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 04: Nikita Zaitsev #22 of the Toronto Maple Leafs takes part in warm up before playing the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Scotiabank Arena on April 4, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 04: Nikita Zaitsev #22 of the Toronto Maple Leafs takes part in warm up before playing the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Scotiabank Arena on April 4, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Photo by Gerry Angus/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images /

According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to move on from defenseman Nikita Zaitsev. Here are three teams who should trade for him. 

The Toronto Maple Leafs have some salary cap issues. Not only do they have to sign Mitch Marner to a new deal, but Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson also need new ones as well. According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Leafs are trying to create some cap space by trading defenseman Nikita Zaitsev.

To say Zaitsev had a suboptimal 2018-19 season is an understatement. He had a career-low points per game rate of 0.17, posting just 14 points in 81 games. Though Zaitsev topped his 13 points from the 2017-18 season, it’s worth noting he only played in 60 games that season.

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Furthermore, he saw his playing time cut, as he averaged a career-low 20:28 per game during the regular season and 18:57 per game in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The acquisition of Jake Muzzin cut into Zaitsev’s playing time.

The Maple Leafs signed him to a long-term extension after his rookie season in 2016-17. Zaitsev has five years remaining on his contract with an annual cap hit of $4.5 million. Because current general manager Kyle Dubas didn’t sign him to the extension (that was Lou Lamoriello), he probably won’t hesitate to move on from him.

Moving him, however, could be difficult. Zaitsev’s no-trade clause kicks in on July 1, which means the Leafs have very little leverage to get much for him in a trade. Ideally, they’d probably like to take no meaningful salary back in a transaction.

That said, Zaitsev is just two years removed from being a productive defenseman. His skill set is one that teams covet and someone might be willing to take a chance on him. Let’s take a look at which teams should trade for Zaitsev.

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