Maple Leafs Miss Out on Brandon Tanev as He Signs With New Team

Brandon Tanev has signed a three-year contract at $2.5M annually, a total value of $7.5M.

Tanev, the brother of current Toronto Maple Leaf Chris Tanev, was a player rumored as a potential option for the Leafs, although ultimately chose Utah as his new destination.

Tanev, 33, had 10 goals and 22 points in 79 games this season split between the Seattle Kraken and the Winnipeg Jets.

This season will be Tanev's 11th in the NHL, and keeps him in the Western Conference.

In 552 career NHL games played, Tanev has 84 goals, 96 assists, and 180 points with the Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguins, & Seattle Kraken.

The Winnipeg Jets signed Tanev as a college free agent, spending four seasons with the Jets before signing a six-year deal with Pittsburgh.

Tanev was selected by Seattle in the expansion draft, and stayed there until this season when traded back to Winnipeg at the trade deadline.

The Utah Mammoth have been busy in free agency, signing Nate Schmidt, Scott Perunovich, and Kailer Yamamoto alongside Tanev.

The Toronto Maple Leafs ultimately were not able to come to terms on a deal with Brandon Tanev, which would have filled a hole in their bottom-six for a defensive forward who works hard.

The Leafs did make a depth move on the physical side in signing Michael Pezzetta, formerly of the Montreal Canadiens, signed to a two-year deal.

Pezzetta, 27, is a highly physical player who is a powerful hitter although lacks an offensive game, pointless in 25 games this season for Montreal, but with 73 hits.

Toronto will hope Pezzetta will add to the Leafs physicality, along with the recently re-signed Steven Lorentz.