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Maple Leafs Reportedly Interested in Trading for Panthers' Two-Time Stanley Cup Winner

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Jul 16, 2025 6:56 AM ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs might turn to one of their most common foes to shore up their bottom six.

According to NHL insider David Pagnotta, Toronto is among several teams linked to Florida Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues, who could become a cap casualty this offseason.

Rodrigues, 30, is under contract through the 2026-27 season as part of a four-year, $12 million deal, and carries a $3 million annual cap hit.

The Panthers forward, who can play at both center and on the wing, is coming off back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with Florida and posted 15 goals and 32 points in 82 regular-season games last season. He added 15 points in 21 playoff games.

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“Rodrigues might be a casualty of Florida’s salary cap situation,” Pagnotta wrote on The Fourth Period's Summer Trade Watch List. “He has two years remaining on his contract and is an attractive asset for another Cup contender if the Panthers opt to move him.”

If moved to Toronto, Rodrigues could fill a key third-line center role and bring championship pedigree and playoff experience to a Leafs roster that has yet to make a deep postseason run.

A Panthers-Leafs trade would also bring back a familiar face to Toronto, as Rodrigues briefly passed through the Maple Leafs organization in 2020 after a trade with Pittsburgh.

Adding more credence to Pagnotta's report, Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet has backed the possibility of Rodrigues being moved, calling him “the obvious trade candidate” for the Panthers in his Trade Board 3.0.

“(Rodrigues) is a well-liked player in the dressing room and a productive middle-six winger,” Kypreos said. “But (Florida) is a team that is $3.725 million over the cap.”

The Maple Leafs still have more than $5.3 million in cap space, making a trade for Rodrigues quite feasible.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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