Connor Brown began crying at teammate's wedding when Leafs traded him

The Toronto Maple Leafs have made no shortage of big moves over the last few seasons.

While fans are typically excited about trades, free agent signings, and any transaction, no matter the size, it isn’t always the same for the players involved.

Speaking to former NHL Luke Gazdic on the Maple Leads podcast, former Leafs forward Connor Brown told the story of how he got a little emotional when hearing the news of being traded along with Nikita Zaitsev and Michael Carcone to the Ottawa Senators back in 2019 at an ex-teammate’s wedding.

“I was in the Hamptons at Matt Martin’s wedding,” Brown told Gazdic in a yet-to-be-released episode. “It’s 11 o’clock at night. And you can imagine I got a couple cocktails into me… I’m revved up. Next thing you know, [Mitch Marner] comes up to me, and he’s like, ‘You check your phone?'”

Traded at a wedding. How Connor Brown found out he was being sent from Toronto to Ottawa. Full interview later this month #NHL #LeafsForever #Gosensgo pic.twitter.com/OMz5ZXPjpY

— Luke Gazdic (@lukegazdic) June 15, 2023

“Who’s texting me at 11 on a Saturday? I’m in the Hamptons,” Brown added.

It turns out it was a pretty life-changing message.

“Jeff Jackson, my agent. He said, ‘Call me.’ So I’m walking on, like, the 18th fairway at Sebonack [golf course] on the phone. And Jeff’s like, ‘yeah, Brownie. You got traded. It’s gonna come out tomorrow.’ I’m like, ‘You couldn’t wait until tomorrow morning?'”

Brown had 43 goals and 56 assists in 253 games for the Leafs in his career across four seasons while also suiting up for 20 playoff games from 2017-19. Both a Leafs’ draft pick and a Toronto native, Brown admits he was overcome with emotion when he heard the news.

“I’m around all my buddies… most of the guys in Leafs are there at the wedding,” he said. “It’s emotional. And I’m an emotional guy. I’m a crier, and like, next thing, and I’m crying. It was an emotional [time].”

Brown spent three seasons with Ottawa before getting traded to Washington prior to last season. He only got four games in with the Capitals before suffering a season-ending knee injury that derailed his year in October.

But looking back on the trade itself, Brown seemed pretty reflective of the positives of his new situation after leaving Toronto.

“It was probably the best thing that could happen for my career and further development of me is, you know, as a person and as a player,” he added.

Brown is an unrestricted free agent this summer, with the chance to pick his next team for the first time in his career. Just maybe, this time, he’ll make the call before wedding season really heats up.

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