The Maple Leafs got the man they wanted, but they also lost a few in the process.
Before John Tavares took over Free Agent Frenzy by signing with his hometown club, veteran forwards James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak inked new contracts with the Philadelphia Flyers and the St. Louis Blues, respectively; defenceman Roman Polak signed on with the Dallas Stars; Tomas Plekanec returned to Montreal; while Leo Komarov essentially traded roster spots with Tavares by heading to Long Island.
After van Riemsdyk signed a five-year, $35 million with the Flyers, JVR joined TSN’s Free Agent Frenzy show to talk about his decision to leave the Leafs for the team that originally drafted his second overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
The Blues signed the 32-year-old Bozak to a five-year contract worth $15 million. He joined the Leafs organization back in 2009 after finishing his sophomore season at the University of Denver. Knowing that the Leafs were in on Tavares, Bozak saw the writing on the wall, and was in contact with the Blues early in on the courting period.
On top of signing Tavares, the Leafs also inked Josh Jooris, Adam Cracknell, Jordan Subban and Martin Marincin.
Bozak and van Riemsdyk will make a combined $12 million per season, which is just $1 million more than Tavares’ annual average value with the Leafs.
