The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially kickstarted their offseason, trading Fedor Gordeev to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a conditional seventh-round selection in the 2020 NHL Draft.
As per TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, Gordeev can re-enter the draft if not signed on the 1st of June, along with Ryan McGregor, a 20-year-old centreman in the OHL. With news emerging that none of their expiring rights would be retained, Minnesota saw an opportunity and went right for it to acquire the defensemen.
In return, the Maple Leafs get a seventh-round pick from the Minnesota Wild on the condition that Gordeev, 20, agrees to sign an entry-level contract. As indicated by Bob McKenzie, this is fully expected to happen.
Honestly, if you have a life, unlike the likes of me, don’t read into this trade too much, Gordeev isn’t expected to make an NHL impact. And if you only follow the Leafs, you weren’t going to hear his name outside of a Steve Dangle Podcast.
If you are like me and have nothing better to do, you should know that Gordeev would’ve made some sort of impact on the organization and you would’ve seen his name on the Newfoundland Growlers and the Toronto Marlies.
I recently wrote a bit about Gordeev, a native of Toronto, if you want to check it out. In short, most of Leafs Nation shouldn’t read into this one too much and even Marlies fans shouldn’t fret too much. This trade is just a free asset for one we didn’t want anyways.