So, Nikita Zaitsev wants to be traded. That’s pretty surprising, right?
Zaitsev’s exit was looked at over the past two seasons as more of an inevitability than anything else, although few would have ever thought Zaitsev himself to be one necessitating his own departure. Frankly, it wasn’t supposed to be this easy.
Jettisoning Zaitsev (and his $4.5 million cap hit for the next five years) was meant to be at the top of the long list of difficult tasks Kyle Dubas must accomplish this summer in order to move the Maple Leafs forward. And yet, here we are.