Props to Sportsnet for confirming this, the Panthers interest has been rumoured all over the internet over the past week. This is what I'm hearing:
McCabe has said he will go to the Florida Panthers, though the Leafs still have to work out a deal with the Panthers. With that said, he has waived his NTM for a total of four teams, and I can confirm the Islanders and Devils are on that list, unsure of the fourth team.
As far as Florida is concerned, the name I am hearing is Mike Van Ryn. He has two years left on his contract, with a cap hit of 2.9 million. I am also hearing that Martin also wants Chad Kinger in the deal, sending him back to the Leafs. Kilger is still on personal leave and is not expected to start the season with the Panthers. The Leafs want Bouwmeister, but at this point Florida's asking price is too high, I doubt that gets done. The Leafs are trying to get David Booth in this deal however, and that could get done. This will not likely be a McCabe for Van Ryn swap, both teams are likely to add other players to this deal, and thats where it could get tricky. Both teams have some cap room to work with, so that shouldn't be an issue, but I am hearing that the Panthers want the Leafs to take Van Ryn in any McCabe deal. With that said, I'm also hearing that Toronto is pushing to get either Bryan Allen or Karlis Skrastins instead of Van Ryn.
It should be an interesting couple of days in Leaf land, and I'm sure we will hear lots of rumours over the next few days, and until this deal gets done.
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