Leafs trade Zaitsev, Brown to Senators in 6-player deal

The Toronto Maple Leafs traded defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, forward Connor Brown, and prospect Michael Carcone to the Ottawa Senators for defensemen Cody Ceci and Ben Harpur, as well as prospect Aaron Luchuk and a third-round pick in 2020, the teams announced Monday.

The trade was apparently in the works for a while but was completed once the Leafs paid Zaitsev his $3-million signing bonus Monday. The Russian blue-liner also had to waive his no-trade clause in order for the deal to go through.

Zaitsev notched 14 points and averaged just over 20 minutes in 81 games this past campaign. He's owed $4.5 million per year across the next five seasons.

Brown played every game for the Leafs in 2018-19 and put up 29 points in a restricted offensive role. He has one more season on his current contract at a $2.1-million cap hit.

Toronto made the move to shed salary. The club now has $11.4 million in projected cap space, per CapFriendly, with an extra $5.3 million potentially at its disposal if Nathan Horton is placed on LTIR.

Ceci, a restricted free agent, had 26 points last season and can fill a hole on the Leafs' right side. He verbally agreed to a one-year contract worth $4.5 million, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

Harpur played 51 games with the Senators a season ago and recorded five points. Prospects Carcone and Luchuk, both forwards, had 44 and nine points at the AHL level, respectively, in 2018-19.