NHL Rumors: Maple Leafs Interested In Ducks Forward

The Maple Leafs have been in search of a bottom-six player who can bring a combination of scoring and physicality to their team and they may have found him in Frank Vatrano.

Elliotte Friedman discussed the topic on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast recently, "All I've heard from the Ducks is Toronto having some interest in Frank Vatrano, which I think makes a lot of sense. Left-handed hot, guy can score. But someone said to me they can't even do 50%, it's $1.8 million, it's not something they think they can fix." Considering the Maple Leafs now have a lot more cap space for the time being, they would be able to now bring in Vatrano at 50% retained to add much-needed scoring to their bottom-six.

Vatrano is no stranger to producing in a team's bottom-six. He averages just 13:49 of ice time in his career and had 18 goals each of the past two seasons. He's physical, takes a lot of shots, and is actually playing higher up in the Ducks' lineup this season, proving he can be an option if need-be.

He has just four goals and six points in 19 games and would do better on a team that doesn't lack offence like the Ducks. It's no secret the Maple Leafs need more from the bottom of their lineup as David Kampf has been the only player really producing offensively for the team.

Vatrano is the type of forward that thrives in the playoffs as well. He was a part of the New York Rangers team last season that went to the conference finals where he scored five goals, 13 points, blocked 21 shots, and made 40 hits in just 20 games. That would boost the Maple Leafs' first round chances by a bit and would allow them to stop holding onto players like Wayne Simmonds and Kyle Clifford for toughness since they barely play and don't produce offensively.