Maple Leafs said to include No. 4 overall pick to Phil Kessel trade offering

Making over the Toronto Maple Leafs starts with making significant trades. To that end, reports say team president Brendan Shanahan and his crew are looking to peddle their first-round pick and . With many general managers in Buffalo over the weekend for the NHL Scouting Combine, trade rumors grew like a prairie fire. It's not surprising the Leafs were involved, although the notion of trading the fourth overall pick in the was le s expected than disposing of Ke sel. MORE: | | All options, it appears, are open as the Leafs undertake a franchise rebuild. Its something we would definitely look at, Leafs interim co-GM Kyle Dubas told in regard to trading the first-round pick. If someone else was adamant about a player, were pretty comfortable with the players in that cluster. We need to be acquiring as many draft pick a sets as we can, as many prospects as we can. If there Seth Jarvis Jersey was something that made sense, wed be open to listening and having some thorough discu sions on the fourth pick. Ke sel and defensemen Dion Phaneuf are likely to be moved this offseason. Ke sel's scoring ability are countered by his whopping contract, which has seven years to run at $8 million per season in cap space; and his baggage of being a high-maintenance player. Expected returns include , the currency of the realm as the NHL heads toward June 26's first-round selections. recently posted on expectations of many teams making moves this summer. In addition to the Leafs, the story mentioned the following players as being in trade rumors: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund, St. Louis Blues Rick Nash, New York Rangers Because of the number of big-name players available and teams in need of overhaul, especially in clearing cap space, this year's draft could well be the most active in years in trading players. The draft's top three picks are expected to be Connor McDavid to the Edmonton Oilers, Jack Eichel to the Buffalo Sabres and defenseman Noah Hanifin to the Arizona Coyotes. While the Leafs could get a solid prospect at No. 4, why might well trade down and get a similar return. Ke sel had 25 goals and 61 points in the 2014-15 season, playing all 82 games. But his sixth season with the Leafs also saw him finish minus-34. Still, at 27 Ke sel has ability that a coach might believe he can harne s. By the way, Shanahan has yet to hire a general manager after his purge at season's end. says until the right man is found, Shanahan will handle the job and split duties with Dubas and fellow a sistant GM Mark Hunter. Juha Jaaska Jersey