Top Russian Free Agent and Former Cup Champion Emerges as Potential Maple Leafs Target

After signing a litany of free agents over recent weeks, Brad Treliving has done well to add to his surplus of young potential stars who could be the next big thing wearing the Maple Leafs uniform.

Looking ahead to the future, things are certainly bright. Easton Cowan, Ben Danford, and Jacob Quillan are now joined by Luke Haymes, John Prokop, Ryan Kirwan, and Borya Valis as the next core of the team to lead them to glory, and the prospects certainly bring a lot of excitement.

But we're in the now, and Toronto is in a good spot to add to their legacy and break their Stanley Cup curse; though they need that next little thing to push them over the edge from pretender to contender.

So maybe they should look overseas to bring in someone who knows a thing or two about winning, and would be a huge advantage should Toronto face the Washington Capitals at any point.

Enter Evgeny Kuznetsov.

It turns out that it's not just Ivan Demidov that is heading out of SKA St. Petersburg, as the team announced they came to an agreement to mutually part ways with the former Stanley Cup Champion.

The 32-year old posted 40 points in 45 games (13G, 27A) and still showed signs of his former superstardom, and can still clearly contribute at a high level.

A playmaking phenom who ended up playing a lot of meaningful minutes with Alex Ovechkin, Kuznetsov has built a career on being a passing wizard, while also maintaining solid defense and face-off numbers.

His 575 points in 743 career games is nothing to sniff at, but it's the postseason where he really comes to shine. In 97 playoff games he has 73 points (33G, 40A), showing more of a scoring touch, and managed an incredible 32 points in the Capitals Cup-winning season.

Oh, did we mention he's a center? That seems like someone who can fit in on Toronto's third line to provide a lot of offense and ease the burden of Max Domi; plus if you throw Nick Robertson there; who knows what potential can be unlocked there as well.

It remains to be seen if any NHL team will end up signing 'Kuzy' but he can still provide a lot of help and is a proven winner.

But if the Maple Leafs wanted to truly be serious about a Stanley Cup, they'll do their best to persuade him to the blue and white, and could be the secret to limiting the Capitals if they meet in the Conference Finals.