Foligno welcomes Leafs opportunity
Blue Jackets captain dealt to Toronto for playoff drive
The Toronto Maple Leafs like the idea of `like father, like son' when it comes to playoff impact trades.
Hoping some post-season history repeats itself in a new generation, they beat a few other clubs to Monday's deadline clock for left winger Nick Foligno from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a three-way trade with the San Jose Sharks. Toronto gave up its first rounder in this July's draft to Columbus and fourth rounders both this year and next to the Jackets and Sharks for the eldest NHL son of Mike Foligno, who was a key piece in a fabled 42-day playoff odyssey in 1993.
Known for his post-goal celebratory jumps and wearing the No. 71 that Nick will inherit, Mike — now a Vegas Golden Knights scout — moved his family to Toronto after his own trade from Buffalo. So Nick is coming home in a sense.
“It was nice to have that phone call with him,” Nick said via Zoom in a straight-from-theheart talk about his six years as Columbus captain and the adventure awaiting him here. “My dad's advice was `enjoy it, play with passion, the fans in Toronto are passionate'. That lines up with who I am and how I play.
“I was telling him there'll be another 71 flying around. But I won't be wearing that (distinctive bubble) helmet.”
Nick still looks effective at age 33 — just ask the Leafs he pushed around in last summer's playoff win — an aggressive six-foot, 200 pounder. But he realized over the weekend with their two most recent trades — Riley Nash to the Leafs and David Savard to Tampa Bay — this chapter of the Jackets is ending.
Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas made it known he'd give up picks and prospects to re-arm the Leafs and avoid another firstround knockout. But Sunday also displayed the CBA savvy of assistant GM Brandon Pridham. The Leafs finessed this deal through two other current non-playoff teams, getting the Sharks to eat half of Foligno's remaining US$5.5- million salary this year in exchange for a fourth-rounder, while Columbus assumed the rest of his cheques.
So, Toronto still has room before Monday's 3 p.m. ET deadline to perhaps add a defenceman. The injured Nash provided some cap relief that could be coupled with Frederik Andersen's salary, depending on the goalie's recovery from his own health issue.
Foligno was already sold on the Leafs when Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, in gratitude for his six years as captain, suggested teams that made sense for the player and the team. Foligno saw in the disappointed faces of the Leafs in the playoff handshake line they needed to take another step. Then he watched them climb to the top of the NHL this weekend.
“This was a hard day obviously, but once you make the decision, you're excited,” said Foligno. “Let's be honest, this was a tough year in Columbus and I take a lot of responsibility for that. This is an opportunity I'm not going to waste. Jarmo allowed me to chase my dream of winning a Stanley Cup.
“Seeing how young the Leafs were (last summer), but how they learned a lot about themselves and how dangerous they are, it was a fit for me. There's a maturity in them. You can tell how focused they are. They hunker down and find ways to win games. They have firepower, they've had great goaltending of late. They have a mix of being able to win different ways and at playoff time when it tightens up and you have the ability, it bodes well.”
Foligno compared this stage of his career to that of new teammate Jason Spezza, previously a teammate with the Ottawa Senators, who drafted both of them into the NHL.
“He paid his dues and is looking for a Cup,” he said. “I'm a guy who plays off my gut and my heart was telling me it's the right move. I look forward to hitting the ground running.”
Foligno must first sit out a seven-day Canadian COVID-19 quarantine, but will leave his wife and three kids in Ohio for now. Many Leafs sent welcoming texts on Sunday. Foligno knows Auston Matthews from the U.S. national team and he spoke to Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe. He also had a good farewell chat with the often fiery coach John Tortorella, whom he's always accepted as pushing him and the team hard for the right reasons. He admitted the thought of coming back to Columbus as a UFA already crossed his mind, but vowed the Leafs have 100 per cent of his loyalty.
The Leafs are also getting Texas-born right winger Stefan Noesen from San Jose as a depth forward.
In 950 career games between Columbus and Ottawa (which made him a first-round pick in 2006), Foligno has 482 points and 22 more in 51 playoff games. He won both the Mark Messier and King Clancy trophies in 2016-17 for leadership and is the third team captain from another club added to this mix with John Tavares and Joe Thornton, both of whom he knows off-ice.
Dubas won't comment until after Monday's deadline.