It seems the Toronto Maple Leafs almost made a deal for LA Kings center Mike Richards, a player long ago relegated to fourth-line duty and recently placed on waivers by the team.
TSN's Eliotte Friedman, in his latest "30 Thoughts" offering, notes that the Calgary Flames and the Maple Leafs were the two teams showing the most interest in a deal for the two-way center, with the Leafs and Kings talking a trade that would have sent defenseman and Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf to Los Angeles in exchange for Richards and more.
"Calgary and Toronto were reported to be the two teams most involved in a Richards trade," according to Freidman. "I do believe the Dion Phaneuf-Richards idea was seriously considered, although other pieces were going to be involved."
Richards had become an expensive fourth-line center for the Kings while Phaneuf, at least from the outside, still seems to be a main part of the core for the Leafs.
The Kings ultimately balked at the deal because the "other pieces" involved for the Leafs were Tanner Pearson or Tyler Toffoli.
"I don't know which team asked, or how the overall package was going to look, but word is the Kings ultimately said no to any deal because they were unwilling to include either Tanner Pearson or Tyler Toffoli," Freidman said.
Pearson and Toffoli, both 22, are two of the three pieces that formed the "That 70's Line" for LA, along with center Jeff Carter, that proved so effective for Kings coach Darryl Suter early in the season.
A lack of production elsewhere in the lineup forced Sutter to break up the line, but Pearson and Toffoli have both still managed 12 goals apiece.
Both players are still on their entry-level deals so they're inexpensive and, despite the fact that they'll require major pay upgrades in the not-too-distant future, it's not hard to see why Kings GM Dean Lombardi had no interest in dealing them, even if it would have brought back a player of Phaneuf's ilk.