Leafs were close to signing Montour in free agency
The Toronto Maple Leafs have taken full advantage of free agency, signing a handful of notable players.
And while they landed big-name defencemen like Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Chris Tanev (via trade), Leafs management almost came to terms with former star Florida Panthers blueliner Brandon Montour.
Speaking with Mark Roe and Frank Corrado on TSN on Wednesday, Montour revealed the nature of conversations between his camp and hometown team earlier this month.
“There were conversations,” the 30-year-old, who battled an injury last season, said. “You look at their roster, you look at yourself and you know, for me, I looked at myself and saw the player that definitely could help. It was intriguing, you know, in that week. There were talks, but again, there’s a lot that goes into it with family and what they need and what I need, and business decisions and such.”
Ultimately, though, Montour, who scored a career-high 16 goals and 73 points with Florida in 2022-23, settled on a seven-year, $49.98 million deal with the Seattle Kraken on July 1.
“There were definitely talks. We were excited, we thought about it, but tons of options for us. [We’re] grateful for Seattle and excited for that experience and excited to get down there, to what you can say, is a new organization.”
Given this offseason’s roster shakeup, the Leafs will decide on an NHL-ready top-six ahead of the 2023-24 season based on the following players in their system:
- Morgan Rielly
- Chris Tanev
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson
- Jake McCabe
- Timothy Liljegren
- Conor Timmins
- Simon Benoît
- Dakota Mermis
- Philippe Myers
- Jani Hakanpää
Toronto will kick off their upcoming season with a road game against their eternal rival, the Montreal Canadiens on October 9. They’ll go to New Jersey the following day, ahead of their home opener on October 12 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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