The Toronto Maple Leafs tried to land defensemen Chris Tanev and Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames before the latter was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks earlier this week, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported during Saturday's "Headlines" segment on Hockey Night in Canada.
The would-be deal fell apart due to salary cap restraints, Friedman added.
"From what I understand, the issue here was that the Maple Leafs and the Flames could not agree on what it would cost for Calgary to keep up to 50% of the salary on both players," he said.
"The two sides couldn't figure out that compensation, in addition to just the compensation for the players."
The Maple Leafs currently have approximately $2.9 million in available money, per CapFriendly, while the Flames have $4.2 million.
Zadorov was ultimately dealt to Vancouver for two draft picks. Both he and Tanev are unrestricted free agents next summer. Tanev remains a trade target with the Flames struggling in the standings.
The Maple Leafs are still in pursuit of help on the blue line after missing out on Zadorov, according to Friedman, preferring a right-handed shot.
Toronto is currently without regulars Timothy Liljegren, Mark Giordano, and John Klingberg due to injury.
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