Insider Report: Leafs nearly snagged 2 star players in free-agency

According to a report from The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, Joe Thornton was almost a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. While we all know how the team’s free-agency signing of Patrick Marleau went down, what has gone unreported until now was the Leafs’ courtship of his former San Jose Sharks teammate Thornton. 

In the one-on-one interview with LeBrun, Thornton opened up for the first time about the free-agent process and admitted that he strongly considering joining Marleau in Toronto. 

The article is full of juicy quotes, check it out:

“It was kind of funny that a bunch of teams wanted us together,’’ Thornton said of the free-agent experience, a first for him and Marleau. “It was flattering to us that they would think so highly of us. Ultimately, I wanted to stay put here. But it was possible that we would have left together.’’

“For sure, we were talking with Toronto,’’ confirmed Thornton. “But I wanted to stay here, that was the bottom line.’’

So, what if the Leafs had pulled off the double heist? Chances are they’d have to trade a player or two to free up some salary to get under the NHL’s salary cap. But it’s not often that a team gets the opportunity to add to potential Hall-of-Famers to their lineup. In the end though, they got at least one and Thornton thinks they chose the right one.

“He’s still a dominant player in this league”, said Thornton of his former teammates. “He’s still going to score you 30 goals. He can really help out that team. He can take over games. People don’t realize, he’s a game-changer. You don’t get 500 goals by accident.’’