Matt Larkin and Steven Ellis welcome Daily Faceoff president Frank Seravalli to the guest seat as Seravalli talks about potential trade targets and what the latest is surrounding Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe
Matt Larkin: So I wanted to ask you, Frank about a name that’s been relatively under the radar but has become a climber on your Trade Board and that’s Jake McCabe. A rugged defenseman of the Chicago Blackhawks so what’s the rationale behind the big jump for McCabe?
Frank Seravalli: Well, the big jump is because there’s just been that much interest in the Jake McCabe express. They’ve got a couple of other big pieces to potentially move like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews but with McCabe, the teams that have reached out to this point include; the Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs I do believe.
So where it gets interesting is McCabe has a seven-team no-trade list and some people wondered “why seven teams, does that mean all seven Canadian teams are on the list?” And I’m told six of the seven Canadian teams are on the no-trade list but the one that isn’t is the Toronto Maple Leafs. I think they have had their eyes on McCabe for a while and where it gets exciting from a Maple Leafs’ perspective is if you know Chicago has a lot of cap space to go around, what if you entice the Blackhawks with potentially a better draft pick or return to retain half on Jack McCabe so then you have him for the next two seasons at a $2,000,000 cap hit.
It would seem to be no risk even for a guy that has a history of injuries and I think McCabe as the defender type, not really an offensive defenseman is exactly in line with what the Maple Leafs need, and to get him at that cap hit would seem to be a smart move.
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