$49,900,000 Seattle Kraken star reveals how close he was to signing with Toronto Maple Leafs

Brandon Montour, the $49.9 million star for the Seattle Kraken, signed with his new team in free agency. He had multiple suitors, including the Toronto Maple Leafs. While he didn't land with the team that has spent a lot this offseason, he did have conversations with the team and came close to heading north of the border.

He said on TSN's OverDrive:

"There were conversations. You look at their roster, you look at yourself and you know, for me, look at myself and saw the player, and definitely could help. It was intriguing, you know, in that week."

He reiterated that he did talk to the team, but he stressed that a lot goes into the decision-making process:

"With family with what they need and what I need, business decisions and such. There were definitely talks, we were excited, we thought about it, but tons of options for us.”

Despite nearly landing with a different team, Montour said he's excited to get to Seattle and play with a new organization.

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Brandon Montour opens up on how family reacted to rumors

While he was a free agent, Brandon Montour was the subject of a lot of rumors. This is the cycle for every major free agent. They're linked to any and all interested teams, and there are rumors about where they're going to go up until the day they sign.

Brandon Montour nearly went to Toronto (Imagn)

That media attention affects friends and family. He said:

“You know, you obviously get that, especially now with just little things like me being up north now and my friends and neighbors caught wind. I’m not much in the media but people obviously watch that, fans of the Leafs, fans in Canada. Just being from here, your friends and family hear it on the radio, rumors and whatnot."

The rumors about the former Florida Panthers defenseman moving to Toronto proved untrue, though he even admitted it was close. Those rumors weren't unfounded, but the star player's family still had to deal with that.