Report: NHL veteran declined contract offers from both Bruins and Leafs

According to a report from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, veteran NHLer Chris Stewart turned down professional tryout (PTO) contract offers from both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins this past offseason.

The 31 year old former 60+ point player elected instead to sign a pro deal with Slovan HC of the KHL but failed to report to the team and had his contract voided before the season even began. Recently he signed with the Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL and has played just 12 games for the British squad so far, putting up two goals and six points.

According to Chris’ brother Anthony, the younger Stewart is still preparing to play in the NHL in 2019-20.

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Anthony Stewart, who played 12 pro seasons in exotic locales from AHL Rochester to KHL Zagreb, is lending his knowledge to Sportsnet. He says brother Chris, who played the most recent of his 652 NHL games last season in Calgary, is in England, getting ready to make a comeback for next season. Anthony said Chris had tryout offers with Boston and Toronto, but decided to take a pass last fall.

Hard to see anyone taking a chance on Stewart at this point. The 6 foot, 2 inch, 240 pound winger just doesn’t have the speed to get around the ice in the way he once did. He last played in the NHL last season, putting up just 10 goals and 16 points in 54 games split between the Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames.