Miikka Kiprusoff has been the subject of numerous trade talks as the NHL trade deadline is set to end on Wednesday. The veteran goalie was being shopped around with the Toronto Maple Leafs as the main suitor. The team was given permission to speak to the goalie earlier this week but nothing more came to it. Now, the Flames are expected to retain the goalie for the remainder of the season instead of trading him.
Kiprusoff will continue to play with the Flames and is expected to retire once the season is over. His current contract has no type of no-trade clause in it, which caused him to be one of the main players targeted during the trading period. He was adamant that he was hesitant about any sort of trade due to his wife just recently having a child. That is assumed to have complicated the possible trade to Toronto.
The veteran is currently playing in the fifth year of a six-year, $35 million contract. He currently earns $5.8 million per year, but he is only set to earn $1.5 million next season, due to the type of contract he signed. It was always understood that Kiprusoff would retire before the final year of the deal. Kiprusoff has been with the Flames since the 2003-04 season and at 36-years old is having one of the worst years of his career.
With Kiprusoff officially off the trade market, the Maple Leafs search for a veteran goalie becomes a bit more complicated. He was the team's main target and now they must rethink their attack plan. This could mean that Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo could see himself headed to Toronto sooner rather than later.
Toronto and Vancouver discussed a possible trade for the goalie prior to the 2013 season beginning but nothing was ever formally completed. Now discussions have heated up again, but Toronto is waiting for the asking price for the veteran to be lowered. Luongo is signed to a contract through the 2022 season and the Maple Leafs want that reduced. Canucks general manager Mike Gillis is reportedly attempting to alter the goalie's price which could make the deal more attractive to the Maple Leafs. If Toronto is serious about acquiring a veteran, they most move quickly.
