Montour, the Florida Panthers' second-most productive defenseman during their Stanley Cup-winning run, signed with Seattle on July 1.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had a busy July 1, signing two defensemen Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson to long-term contracts. But, they also had a chance at signing recent Stanley Cup champion Brandon Montour.
The 30-year-old defenseman was on TSN's OverDrive on Wednesday afternoon and confirmed that he had conversations with the Maple Leafs about returning to his home province of Ontario and signing in Toronto.
"There were conversations. I mean, you look at their roster, you look at yourself. And, for me, I looked at myself and saw the player and definitely could help and was intriguing in that week. There were talks, but again, there's a lot that goes into it with family and what they need and what I need and business decisions and such," Montour said on OverDrive.
"But there were definitely talks. We were excited. We thought about it. But, tons of options for us, and obviously grateful for Seattle, and we're excited about that experience and excited to get down there and kind of get started with, you know, you could say a new organization."
The Ohsweken, Ontario-born defenseman signed a seven-year, $49.98 million deal with the Seattle Kraken on July 1 after winning the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers a few weeks prior.
Montour was second among Panthers defensemen in points with 11 in 24 playoff games and ice time, averaging 22:40 per game, only behind Gustav Forsling. Montour scored eight goals and 25 assists in 66 regular season games with Florida.
Along with Tanev, Ekman-Larsson — who the Maple Leafs signed — and Montour, Toronto was also reportedly interested in Matt Roy. However, he signed a four-year, 14 million deal with the Washington Capitals.
The Maple Leafs signed depth defensemen Dakota Mermis and Philippe Myers to one-year deals worth $775,000 each on July 2. They also extended Timothy Liljegren for two more years at a $3 million annual average value on June 30.
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