Brad Marchand reveals how surefire deal with Maple Leafs fell apart

Last summer, a lot was made of Brad Treliving's rumoured pursuit of former Bruins captain and 2-time Stanley Cup champion Brad Marchand.

At one point, Marchand even fed into the storyline, appearing to troll fans into believing that he might opt to forake his former Bruins and sign with their arch nemesis, the Toronto Maple Leafs, after being a thorn in their side for the better part of two decades.

In the end, the Florida Panthers were able to keep the band together, with several players agreeing to take less for a chance to compete for another Stanley Cup together.

Leafs Nation was content to let sleeping dogs lie, and never put too much thought into how close the Leafs actually were to getting Marchand, but that might change after Marchand's latest comments.

According to the veteran forward himself, the Leafs were a finalist for his services, and in his mind, they appeared to be the favourites, given Florida's cap situation at the time.

TSN's Chris Johnston shared the comments on social media on Tuesday morning, ahead of the Leafs' first meeting against the Panthers since last year's playoffs, when the Cats sunk the Buds in their 2nd round, 7-game series.

For the Leafs, this one has to sting. Not only could they have used his 46 points through the first half of the season, but Marchand is a quality player, a true leader, and a proven winner. His agitation skills alone would have made him a worthwhile addition, just to throw the opponent of their game.

However, when you factor in his playing ability, he may have been the x-factor that this team needed to take things to the next level.

Unfortunately, we don't operate on "what ifs", and Marchand remains a member of the Panthers, while the Leafs went out and nabbed Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy with their available cap space.

Also read on Toronto Hockey Daily :
Leafs reporter convinced Morgan Rielly's time in Toronto is coming to an end