'I'm Super Proud Of The Journey I've Been On': Bobby McMann Reacts to New Two-Year Contract With Maple Leafs and How It Came About
The 27-year-old undrafted player worked his way to the NHL and kept it going to earn more security.
PHILADELPHIA — Bobby McMann couldn't wait to call his parents in Alberta when the details of his new contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs were finalized.
"I explained to them that this is the years and this is the amount of money and my parents were really thrilled," McMann said on Thursday. "I don’t know if they ever thought I’d get to this point. I think they wanted me to sign it a little earlier in the negotiation but I made them sweat it out a little bit and they were super happy with it."
The 27-year-old signed a two-year, $2.7 million contract extension with the Maple Leafs on Wednesday. He said that talks began a couple of weeks ago when the club expressed interest in keeping the pending unrestricted free agent in the fold. Talks took a break while the Leafs were approaching the trade deadline before resuming over the last week and getting finalized on Wednesday.
McMann, who has 10 goals in 40 games this season, could have tested himself on the open market. But in the end, he didn't want to leave Toronto.
"Anyone who is a UFA might think that they want to wait but I know I really like it here," McMann said. "I really like the coaches, I really like the role that I have. I think I can carve out a nice spot on the team and try to contribute to the talent we already have.
"I like where I’m at and I like the treatment here and the things that this team has offered so I’m super excited to stay."
It was one month ago when McMann was destined to be a healthy scratch before a flu bug hit forwards John Tavares and Mitch Marner and McMann was called into action. He recorded his first career NHL hat trick in a 4-1 win against the St. Louis Blues.
He hasn't always produced offensively since that time, recently breaking a seven-game points drought before scoring a goal in a 3-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. But McMann has played key minutes on the team's third line and he has been dependable in that role.
"It's his unwavering confidence along with other attributes that have allowed McMann to go from undrafted and playing in the ECHL to a consistent NHL player.
"Confidence and ability paired with elite work ethic," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe added. "You don’t get to come into the league and play as a 27-year-old rookie without really believing in yourself, staying with it and working incredibly hard. He’s fought through a number of injuries as well. He had a hard time staying healthy.
"A lot of guys quite frankly, with more ability than Bobby, they quit. They give up and they don’t have the same drive and same habits and same commitment to it."
McMann battled an adductor injury sustained last season and it has flared up on him at times earlier this season. He also had a knee injury while with the Leafs last season. Through it all, he has endured and has become an example in the organization of what is possible if you don't relent on your work ethic and ability. No matter where you are playing.
"There’s definitely times like when we’re playing in the East Coast and you feel like maybe don’t deserve to be there you feel like you have more to offer and there’s time like maybe you’re not getting the ice time that you want and those things are out of your control," McMann said. "I learned pretty quickly that those things don’t matter. It matters that you continue to work and continue to grow your game. Because when you get that opportunity, if you have the skills and you have that compete and you have those details, that’s what’s going to matter and then you can seize those opportunities when they come."
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEJiJpYPh0k[/embed]
Like he has always done, McMann was on the ice at Wells Fargo Center working on some things during the Maple Leafs' optional skate ahead of their game against the Philadelphia Flyers that evening. Signing a new deal with some term hasn't changed that, nor is it expected to.
After all, it's been a long road from Wainwright, Alberta, to Colgate University, Wichita, Kansa, and Newfoundland before finding a home in Toronto.
"I’m super proud of the journey that I’ve been on," McMann said. "The fact that it wasn’t easy. The fact that many times maybe I was overlooked. It makes it that much more special. It's what the number represents. Not the number on the contract.
"It's the fact that I earned a spot and earned a multi-year contract."
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