According to the Ottawa Citizen's Bruce Garrioch, the Senators are looking to move off Andre Burakovsky which gives the Leafs a chance to bring in a proven winner.
The Ottawa Senators are enjoying a pretty fantastic start to their 2026-27 season, sitting third in the Atlantic with a 13-6-2 record, and getting a full team effort from top to bottom including their goaltending - where Linus Ullmark has been incredible.
But one player who isn't having the best season so far is Andre Burakovsky, the Senators' prized summer trade acquisition. A healthy scratch multiple times, he has gone pointless in eight games this year despite being looked at as a key part of the lineup.
Burakovsky is the latest player added to the NHL's trade block
Which is why his name is floating out there, with Elliotte Friedman bringing him up as a potential trade candidate, with the Ottawa Citizen's Bruce Garrioch confirming as much - but admitted it's a harder task than it seems:
Elliotte Friedman told viewers of Sportsnet's “Saturday Headlines” second-intermission segment that Burakovsky's name was out there.
This won't come as a huge shock, but it will be difficult to move a player who is nursing a lower-body injury and hasn't been very good when he has played.
To be fair to Burakovsky, he is dealing with an issue that's keeping him from reaching his full potential, and his career numbers are pretty solid with 164 goals and 420 points in 779 games while adding solid defensive numbers and incredible discipline - with only 185 PIM over his 13-year career.
He's also added 47 points in 93 playoff games and won two Stanley Cups; one with Washington in 2018 and one with Colorado in 2022.
Toronto can ship out dead money for lineup help
He would make a great addition to the Maple Leafs' bottom-six as an offensive scoring option and someone who can add some much needed help for Gavin McKenna. He's a better offensive option than Dakota Joshua, and a fresh start could motivate him.
However, Garrioch turned to Burakovsky's attitude as a potential roadblock, and some executives are even straying far away:
Teams have concerns about Burakovsky's willingness to compete, but maybe a fresh start would help him get his game back together.
“He's not that good a player,” another [NHL executive] said.
Toronto needs to send something back to Ottawa and could package Max Domi's contract along with someone like Joshua or even Miles Wood for a chance to take that salary hit off their provincial rivals.
Domi may never play again so his money isn't an issue, and with Joshua and Wood both signed to deals past this year - they have to be added to clear up future space. Luckily, Burakovsky is a pending UFA so the tagging issues aren't as preventative.
Burakovsky may not be the immediate solution the Maple Leafs need considering there's about five big things they need to fix. But when it comes to bottom-six scoring help, he makes a lot of sense.
Who knows, maybe his motivation to beat the Senators and prove himself is exactly the kind of spark the Maple Leafs need.
Should the Maple Leafs look to try and trade for Andre Burakovsky?
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