Potential trade candidate for Justin Holl could fit right in with the Leafs

With the Leafs already over the salary cap this off-season, it's looking like something will have to give in terms of a trade, especially considering the signing of Rasmus Sandin has yet to be announced. Most insiders have speculated on some potential moves that Kyle Dubas could make to fit everyone into the salary cap. We may yet even see more than one move from the Leafs' GM.

Most Leafs fans had assumed coming into this season that both Justin Holl and Alexander Kerfoot would be on the move. After all, it makes plenty of sense for the Buds, as it frees up $5.5M in cap space and since both players are likely to bring back some pieces that can help the Leafs in one area or another (either on the roster or in the form of some added draft capital), moving both pending UFA's just makes a lot more sense than it does to keep them around.

With the Washington Capitals having an abundance of forwards and needing some defensive help, Kevin Papetti of Maple Leafs Hot Stove highlighted the idea of trading for Garnet Hathaway. Hathaway is a young, cheap depth forward at 1 x 1.5M AAV who fights, throws a sizeable amount of hits, plays on the penalty kill, and takes a ton of defensive zone starts. He also produces similar to Jarnkrok at 5v5. In other words, he could be an Alex Kerfoot replacement at less than half the price.

If Washington sees Holl as a fit, this deal could work out for both teams. Since the value for defensemen has seemingly exploded over the past few seasons, perhaps the Leafs would be able to bring back an additional asset in such a deal as well.