The trade noise around Toronto Maple Leafs forward Bobby McMann only continues to grow as the National Hockey League regular season inches closer to the trade deadline, set for March 6.
With the Maple Leafs sitting five points back of the Boston Bruins for the final Wild Card spot in the crowded Eastern Conference, and McMann being a pending unrestricted free agent at season’s end, the trade speculation has started to grow. He discussed the noise in a recent interview with Sportsnet’s Luke Fox.
“I like it here with Toronto. I wouldn’t necessarily want to go anywhere. I want to run with these guys. I want to make a push here,” McMann said to Fox. “I can’t really control what happens outside of that. I’ll just have to deal with it then.”
With the Maple Leafs having faced the Edmonton Oilers in their final game prior to the Olympic break, and McMann scoring a goal while also being from Alberta, a potential match has been paired between McMann and the Oilers. With McMann only making $1.35 million this season, this becomes the type of player that could be added to the lineup in Oil Country.
“I don’t pay attention to it as much as possible,” McMann said. “But inevitably, anybody technically could get traded if the right deal comes along. I try to put it out of my head. As much as I can, I don’t put any thought into it, because I can’t control whether it happens or not. I’m trying to focus on just being good into the break here.”
Through 56 games played this season, McMann has posted 19 goals and 13 assists, two off the career high in points set last season, when the 29-year-old totaled 34. The return to the province in which McMann was born could have helped motivate the Maple Leafs forward. As of Wednesday morning, moneypuck.com had the Maple Leafs’ chances of making the playoffs at 10%, a number that doesn’t leave much room for error with 25 games remaining.
“As long as it’s mathematically possible. We have some really good players in this group,” McMann said. “When you look at some of the really good teams in our league, some we’ve played well against, and they went on massive runs as well. So it’s definitely possible.”
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