The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the up and up and many believe the John Tavares signing will bring them to new levels. While the majority of people around the Leafs are feeling positive heading into the 2018-19 season, one Leafs prospect isn't and decided to head overseas. Leafs prospect Martin Dzierkals has been dissapointed in his situation and finds himself in the KHL this season. «I was in Toronto and we spoke about the contract for the next season. What they offered me wasn't good enough,» Dzierkals said via KHL insider Aivis Kalnins. «I had talked to [Dinamo Riga GM] Girts Ankipans and he expressed interest to see me in a Dinamo jersey, he said that I would help the team. I spoke to Ankipans, then had a discussion with my agent and we decided to spend the year in Riga.»
Dzierkals states he was promised time in the AHL and NHL last season, but ended up only playing four AHL games where he went pointless before he was sent to the ECHL for the rest of the season. «During the negotiations for my next contract, there weren't any guarantees that the same thing wouldn't happen to me again,» he explained. «The team front office said the same — that I would play in the AHL. I spent some time there but they sent me down. I wasn't happy with their rules. Eventually, I got tired of waiting, I texted [Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas] myself so I could figure things out. I don't know if I can tell you this but I had made a trade request because I wasn't happy with my contract. They had told me that they liked me and that they don't want to move me.»
Dzierkals hopes that his stint in the KHL only lasts one season because he believes the Leafs have the talent to win the Stanley Cup. However, as much as he'd like to be a part of it, he needs ice time to prove he can help.
