Rumor: Leafs Prospect Topi Niemelä Reaches Verbal Agreement with New Team

Monday has already been a bit of a wild day for the Maple Leafs organization. Making one move already (albeit only a minor defensive swap), Brad Treliving and company are gearing up for Friday's trade deadline in what's sure to be a hectic day.

But the club also found themselves without a prospect all of a sudden. According to sources, defenseman Topi Niemelä has verbally agreed to sign a contract with Lulea HF of the SHL; signalling a potential end to his NHL dreams.

Nothing is concrete until pen is put to paper, but Niemelä verbally agreeing to jump ship is a pretty good indicator that a move is more than likely and where there's smoke, there's usually fire.

Niemelä was drafted 64th overall by the Maple Leafs in 2020 however never made it to the big squad and spent his entire time with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.

Heading to Europe will give him the chance to play in a bigger role, and with Lulea having lost some key players due to some transfers, they need the help Niemelä can bring.

It ends the tenure of Niemelä who while had a lot of promise, could never really hack it with the NHL club.

A lot of that has to do with his strength and defense according to Assistant GM Hayley Wickenheiser.

He wasn't the offensive dynamo that Toronto envisioned when they drafted him, and this season has taken a step back in all aspects.

After putting in a solid eight goals and 31 assists last season, he's only managed 18 assists this season with no goals scored. He's also dealt with some injuries during his time, and the grind of the North American system seemed to not be the right fit.

So heading back to Europe, where he played four seasons with Karpat of the SM-Liiga, he'll get a chance to shine once again.

**UPDATE**

According to Niemelä's agent, Mika Rautakallio, Niemelä is committed to playing in North America although stopped short of saying it would be for the Maple Leafs exclusively.

There's still concerns about how he fits in this current regime's defensive system, but as of now it seems like he's sticking around though that could change at a moment's notice.