Report: Bad blood ended relationship between Leafs and Campbell

A new season begins this week and for Edmonton Oilers Jack Campbell, he'll get a new start.

Campbell, of course, signed with the Oilers as a free agent this past offseason after parts of three seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 30 year old former 11th overall pick finally established himself as a regular, every day NHL starting goaltender with the Leafs last season playing a career high 49 games. The thing is... while he was the team's uncontested starter, he did struggle at times. And with the Leafs up against the salary cap, they weren't prepared to pay Campbell what he was seeking on a contract.

There were reports at times that Campbell and the Leafs were far apart on contract negotiations during the season last year and today NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported that there were "things that were said" by both the team and the player that ultimately railroaded negotiations.

From Friedman's most recent 32 Thoughts podcast:

"It ended really badly between him and Toronto. And not just because of the contract talks and we have gone in depth on the contract talks about how the two sides were miles apart. But, I heard there were things that were said that both sides weren't happy with. And so Campbell, who has a reputation as a genial nice guy, I think he's angry about how things left and sometimes a bit of anger can be a good thing."

- Elliotte Friedman

Honestly, maybe I'm out to lunch but I didn't know there was any bad blood between the two sides. From the outside looking in it simply appeared that the Leafs weren't in a position to offer Campbell what he was worth and the player made the difficult decision to move on. Frankly, this is the sort of move that happens every season with little fanfare. 

If what Friedman is reporting is true though, you have to wonder if it affected Campbell during the season and the playoffs last year. After all, Campbell went through a stretch in about February and March where he was simply NOT good. Again, I wonder if contract negotiations played a part in that. If nothing else it'll be interesting to see how he adapts to a new situation in Edmonton with a long-term contract in his back pocket.