Leafs Trade Peter Holland To Arizona

3:10pm: Sarah McLellan of AZ Central Sports reports via Twitter that the Coyotes will send a sixth-round choice to Toronto should the team re-sign Holland or trade the six-year veteran pivot. Essentially this serves as a four month tryout with Holland given the chance to prove to Coyotes management he can be a useful contributor at the NHL level. Should the team decide to go in a different direction and assuming they are unable to move trade him, the Coyotes apparently will be out nothing but a minimal prorated payroll commitment, an amount around $800K.

1:27pm: The Maple Leafs have cleared up their situation with Peter Holland as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they are dealing him to Arizona in exchange for a conditional draft pick.  Craig Morgan of AZ Sports confirmed (Twitter link) the trade with Coyotes GM John Chayka although the draft pick details are still unknown.

Holland has been away from the team since being told to stay home from Toronto’s road trip in late November.  He has played in just eight games so far this season, recording one assist while averaging 10:43 per game.

The 25 year old has been on the outs with the Leafs dating back to the offseason, where they placed him on waivers in advance of his salary arbitration hearing.  He wound up clearing and settled shortly thereafter on a one year, $1.3MM contract.  He will be a restricted free agent once again this offseason.

Holland was a first round pick of the Ducks (15th overall) back in 2009 but never really made a mark in Anaheim, playing in just 29 games over two seasons with the team before being dealt to Toronto.  In his career, he has played in 203 NHL games between Anaheim and the Maple Leafs, scoring 30 goals while adding 40 assists.

Holland should fill a bottom six role with the Coyotes and will likely take the place of Brad Richardson, who is out long-term with a broken tibia and fibula in his leg.

[Related: Coyotes Depth Chart]