Toronto Maple Leafs: Nikita Zaitsev reportedly traded to Senators

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators reportedly have a trade in place that would see Nikita Zaitsev swapped for Cody Ceci.

It appears as though Nikita Zaitsev’s tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs is set to come to an end.

The Maple Leafs have a tentative trade in place that would send Zaitsev to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Cody Ceci, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, who added that there may be other pieces involved.

The trade will not be completed until July 1, when the Leafs are set to pay Zaitsev his $3-million signing bonus. He’d only stand to make a base salary of $1.5 million next season, however, the Sens would obviously be on the hook for the remaining four years of his original seven-year, $31.5-million deal that he signed back in 2017.

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His modified no-trade clause will also kick in on Monday, and while Ottawa is reportedly on the list of teams he wouldn’t agree to be moved to, Zaitsev’s connection to new Sens head coach DJ Smith – who was the Leafs’ defensive coach over the last three years – could sway him to head to the nation’s capital.

Zaitsev was given that lofty contract after finishing with 36 points while playing first-pair minutes for the majority of his inaugural campaign with the Maple Leafs. He’s had serious trouble with production since inking the new deal, only posting 27 points in the past two years combined. Add in his trouble breaking the puck out and this was a deal that the Leafs needed off the books.

The 27-year-old asked to be traded in May, citing personal reasons as the reason for his request.

Ceci, an Ottawa native, played his junior hockey with the 67s and was taken by the Senators with the 15th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft. He’s had a hard time living up to the expectations of a top pick, however, as his offensive production hasn’t quite been up to snuff. But he did tie his career high in points this season, registering 26 in 74 contests.

He’s a restricted free agent and has failed to come to terms on a new deal with the Sens up to this point. Ottawa did tender Ceci a qualifying offer, which would see him get another one-year, $4.3-million deal if he agreed to it. The more likely scenario, however, is that Ceci files for arbitration. The Leafs would then have the opportunity to walk away from the arbitration decision, Ceci would immediately become an unrestricted free agent.

Toronto could also look to flip Ceci immediately for an asset – possibly a pick. If they manage to get something back for Ceci while shedding Zaitsev’s annual earnings, that’ll be a nice piece of business for Kyle Dubas, who has been catching flak over the past few days for his lack of action in the trade market.

With Mitch Marner’s contract situation reportedly hindering the Leafs’ ability to make deals, this cap dump would leave them with approximately $10 million to work with. Once Nathan Horton is placed on LTIR, however, that total rises to around $15.3 million.

That would give Toronto the ability to get Marner under contract and add a few pieces for cheap. But the deal is still tentative, meaning anything can happen between now and July 1.

Let’s see if this deal gets finished before looking forward to any future moves.

What do you think of the proposed deal? Do you want to see Ceci signed or flipped? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!