Bozak and van Riemsdyk among the Leafs headed out of town as free agency begins,
They combined for 15 seasons and1,007 games, but now an era that featured James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak is officially over for the Maple Leafs.
Both players made their exits Sunday, signing as free agents with Philadelphia and St. Louis, respectively, in the shadow of the landmark John Tavares signing in Toronto. Van Riemsdyk and Bozak were both expected to land elsewhere after surviving the club’s historic lows and contributing to the resurgence that started two seasons ago.
“I loved my time in Toronto,” van Riemsdyk, who scored 36 goals last season, told TSN shortly after agreeing to a fiveyear, $35-million deal with the Flyers (all dollars U.S.). “I can’t say enough good things about this city. The fans, the staff working there, and the players I had friendships with … there’s a time in my life there that I always look back on fondly.”
Bozak, who had been the longest-tenured Leaf at nine seasons and is one of the NHL’s best on faceoffs, signed a threeyear, $15-million deal with the Blues.
Toronto also saw Tomas Plekanec return to Montreal on a two-year deal, while Roman Polak signed with Dallas for one season.
Van Riemsdyk and Bozak became Leafs in a flurry of moves by Brian Burke and Dave Nonis in 2010 that built a core of five players in hopes of leading the franchise out of more than a decade’s worth of misery. They did their part in an expensive parlay — along with Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf and Joffrey Lupul — in which the Leafs committed a total of $225 million.
They broke through and made the playoffs in the lockoutshortened 2012-13, but after their infamous Game 7 exit against the Boston Bruins in the first round that year, the promise sank quickly. A miserable 2015-16 season became the catalyst for massive changes to the roster and management. While van Riemsdyk — who was drafted second overall by the Flyers in 2007 — and Bozak were a combined minus-125 as Leafs, they were also key players in playoff drives the past two seasons, playing arguably the best hockey of their careers knowing that free agency was approaching.
“There was different degrees of that,” van Riemsdyk said, referring to free-agent interest from 10 to 12 teams. “I’m glad it came down to (the Flyers).”
Bozak, meanwhile, said he fits in well with a Blues team that lost Paul Stastny at the trade deadline last February, but reloaded recently by signing veteran forward David Perron and goalie Chad Johnson. “It was always a team I thought was a really good fit for me and my family, a place that I wanted to be,” Bozak told the Blues website Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Leafs signed four other players over the weekend: forwards Adam Cracknell and Josh Jooris, as well as defencemen Martin Marincin and Jordan Subban. They are likely to join the Marlies, who won the Calder Cup last month, and provide depth next season.
“Last year, we added (Kasperi) Kapanen, we added (Andreas) Johnsson at the end, (Travis) Dermott came up,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said of call-ups from the AHL champions.
“There are a couple of other guys that are in the mix. We’ve added free agents as well (Igor Ohziganov and Par Lindholm). We’re going to watch it all come together. Compared to when I first arrived, it’s very competitive in all positions. Some of those Marlies now would have just been put on our team a couple of years ago. It’s not like that now. It’s going to be tough to take someone’s job. I think that’s what guys want.”