NHL Insider Confirms Star Winger Turned Down Large Offer From Leafs in Free Agency

When the free agent frenzy kicked off, many were wondering how the Toronto Maple Leafs were going to address their top-6 with Mitch Marner having departed for the Vegas Golden Knights through a sign-and-trade.

There weren't too many options remaining once Brad Marchand re-signed with the Florida Panthers on the eve of free agency, leaving Brock Boeser and Nikolaj Ehlers as the two big fish left.

As minutes turned to hours, the Maple Leafs remained silent at the NHL level, outside of their lone UFA pickup of Michael Pezzetta like Travis Boyd and returnee Dakota Mermis for their farm system.

GM Brad Treliving spoke to the media that evening and mentioned how he was working the phones for trades instead of dealing with the free agent market, based on how shallow it became within the first hour.

However, Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos mentioned that the Maple Leafs did in fact have a Plan B in action once they lost out on the Marchand sweepstakes, and that was trying to get Brock Boeser away from the Vancouver Canucks.

Boeser eventually signed with the Canucks on a 7-year deal worth $7.25 million per season, but as Kypreos reports, the Maple Leafs offered him a contract with higher AAV but carrying less term, which was probably why he ended up staying in Vancouver.

A 9-year veteran, Boeser never wanted to leave Vancouver, however management made it difficult on the Minnesota native until the 11th hour when they started rehashing their negotiations. He was one of the first players to sign a contract on July 1st, which left the Leafs looking for a Plan C.

As Treliving continues to work the phones, it leaves you wondering if Boeser might be the one that got away with how the Leafs' top-6 currently looks.