Evan Rodrigues was in the center of an unexpected trade buzz last season, including a brief moment when he believed he had been traded for Brad Marchand. In the end, trade never happened, but rumors that link him to a summer trade and the Toronto Maple Leafs as a potential freer are now more logical.
Rodrigues thought he was being traded on the Bruins
According to Elliote Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcastThanks to a lack of trading details and a well -timed joke from his teammates from Florida Panthers, Rodrigues believed that he might have been admitted to the trade that the Florida Panthers Brad Marchand saw. When the Panthers added the old brown to the Handelsdeadline, Rodrigues was not sure if he went in the other way in the deal. His teammates did not try to illuminate his stress level, instead Friedman hinted that they added.
Although that was all fun, this season more serious speculation has linked the Stanley Cup champion to other teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs. There is nothing on hands, but the Panthers want to erase cap space, Rodrigues misses trade protection, and he is sharp aware that his name is there.
Rodrigues does not want to go to the Maple Leafs
If he were traded to Toronto, Rodrigues would probably set up a happy face and do his best. That said, the fear of being traded out of the Panthers last season suggests that he is not going anywhere now. That does not mean that the Leafs will not inform, if Rodrigues is actually available.
One proposal suggested that Rodrigues could be sent to Toronto in exchange for recently signed winger Nick Robertson.
At first glance, the deal from Toronto should take up to work. At the same time, it has the start of a deal that may seem logical.
The Maple Leafs want to fill the offensive production that left when Mitch Marner did. Rodrigues can score, comes with valuable play-off experience and a team-friendly cap hit of $ 3 million for two more seasons. With 32 points in 2024-25 and 15 more in the play -offs this last season, he is the kind of reliable attacker that the Leafs might be missing.
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It is for these reasons and more that the Panthers would rather not exchange rodrigues if they can help it. Rodrigues clearly does not want to leave. If he feared an exchange in the Bruins, simply because the trade return was not announced for an hour, the attacker must be a bit stressed this summer, thinking that his name could be included in active commercial interviews.
His affordable contract would be attractive for Toronto and for other teams. If Toronto is in the mix (what they should be), they must offer better than Robertson – of which Friedman noted, it was linked to Pittsburgh and Columbus in separate trade rumors.
The name of Rodrigues will probably stay in trade rumors until the season starts. If the Panthers can find another way to get under the cap before Puck drop and he is still with the team, things can be calm. However, the Panthers are in Win-Now mode and try three pats as champions. They keep their eyes open for upgrades throughout the season.
If Toronto is really interested, keep an eye on Rodrigues. The way he responded to a lack of information about a profession in Boston suggests that he is waiting for the other shoe to fall.
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