Toronto Native Reportedly Turns Down Deal With Maple Leafs Due to Market Pressure
Photo credit: David Kirouac – Imagn Images
One NHL Insider has placed a spotlight on the market pressure in Toronto, revealing that a hometown player has turned down a deal with the Leafs because of it.
Ever since the Toronto Maple Leafs’ playoff run ended, the discourse almost immediately flipped towards how difficult it is to play in a hot market, especially in Canada.
When it came to some of the more sought after names that were expected to hit the open market, like Sam Bennett, many felt that if he did become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, he would avoid the Leafs and look to play in a less hostile environment.
Playing in Toronto for an Original Six team should be seen as a treat, but some feel that the extra pressure and added attention that is placed upon them makes it hard for free agents to openly play here, which then in turn makes it extremely difficult to improve the team, even with added cap space.
Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos added another name to the conversation in Andrew Mangiapane, who is a local from Bolton, Ontario, which isn’t too far off from downtown Toronto. The Leafs held serious interest in his services before he signed in Edmonton and Kypreos believes he knows why.
“The last I heard was, maybe a little concerned to play in this market as a local. Then we have Pezzetta, who is giggling right now, it’s not for everybody.”
In Mangiapane’s case, he did stick around in Canada by signing in Edmonton and he has played in a Canadian market before as a member of the Calgary Flames, but there’s something about Toronto that gets a bad reputation.
As Kypreos mentions, it’s not for everyone and the pressure can mount when you’re specifically a local boy, but there are those who relish that type of attention with Pezzetta and Scott Laughton being a couple of good examples who have really embraced the opportunity.
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
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Toronto Native Reportedly Turns Down Deal With Maple Leafs Due to Market Pressure
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