Report: Kyle Dubas Chose to Keep Roster Player Despite Trade Offer Prior to Deadline

As more details emerge from Kyle Dubas' tenure as the Maple Leafs GM, we've learned more about what could've been under his rule. Among all the denied trades and shot-down proposals, this is one of the most interesting.

Dubas Almost Traded Kerfoot

The Maple Leafs' biggest splash at this year's trade deadline was the acquisition of Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Accari from the St. Louis Blues. While the Leafs gave up a haul, including a 1st-round pick, 2nd-round pick, 3rd-round pick, 4th-round pick, 5th-round pick, Adam Gaudette, and Mikhail Abramov, they almost added another piece.

The 4th-round pick was sent to Minnesota in exchange for them retaining part of O'Reilly's salary, but Toronto almost went another route. Instead of having Minnesota retain salary on O'Reilly's contract and give up yet another draft pick, Toronto considered adding Alexander Kerfoot to the deal as a salary balancer. Kerfoot carried a salary of $3.5 million this past season and would've freed up some cap space for Toronto to take on more of O'Reilly's contract.

Dubas Said No

According to this report, Kyle Dubas was the main reason Kerfoot was kept out of the deal. Dubas and Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe were both big fans of Kerfoot and preferred to keep him despite his lack of production.

Kerfoot could've been easily replaced in Toronto's bottom six, and a chance could've been given to a younger, hungrier player, but Dubas chose to keep Kerfoot, and give up yet another draft pick.

Was this trade worth it in the end? It'll all depend on if O'Reilly re-signs with Toronto.

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