Ex-Leafs forward could re-join former team at the deadline

Compared to previous seasons, the week leading up to the trade deadline has been rather quiet this year. Last season in particular, plenty of teams made their key acquisitions well in advance of the deadline, but with just 5 days leading up to March 8th, we have plenty of big names still on the board, even after Chris Tanev and Ilya Lyubushkin have been moved.

The Colorado Avalanche represent one of the few true Stanley Cup contenders in the league, so one would imagine they would like to add to their core. One player they have interest in, per Avs reporter Adrian Dater, is former Avalanche and Maple Leafs forward, Alexander Kerfoot.

Kerfoot played his first two NHL seasons with the Avalanche, compiling 34 goals and 85 points across 157 games. He was moved to Toronto ahead of the 2019-20 season in the blockbuster deal that involved Nazem Kadri and Tyson Barrie. He wound up playing 4 years with the Maple Leafs, scoring just 40 goals and 134 points in 285 games and was the proverbial whipping boy for several years, despite actually being a versatile player.

Kerfoot walked as a free agent at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season and signed a 2-year pact worth $7M ($3.5M AAV) with the Arizona Coyotes. He has had a far better 2023-24 with 10 goals and 35 points in 60 games after scoring 10 goals and 32 points in 82 games last year with the Leafs.


The Avalanche desperately need to address their forward depth as they are still without Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin. With an extra year on his contract, the Avalanche would have to pay a little extra but at a $3.5 million AAV, that fits the bill.