Former Maple Leafs Defenseman Rips Team For Unacceptable Offer

Getty Ilya Lyubushkin takes aim at Maple Leafs offer.

Former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin took aim at his former team over the offer to keep him.

The Maple Leafs acquired Lyubushkin for his second stint with the team at the 2024 NHL trade deadline. After Toronto was eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs he became a free agent on July 1.

Toronto had an interest in bringing him back but Lyubushkin ended up signing a three-year $9.75 million deal with the Dallas Stars. The defenseman said the Maple Leafs offered him a deal but it was an unacceptable offer.

“We couldn’t agree on the terms,” Lyubushkin said in Russian to media outlet ICE (as translated by The Hockey Writers). “The club was interested, as always in such cases. After the season ends, there’s an exit meeting with the general manager. They made it clear: ‘We want to keep you, and we’ll negotiate with your agent.’

“But once negotiations started, I didn’t feel any strong desire from their side. They said they wanted to keep me, but the terms weren’t acceptable. Both in terms of duration and money, it was very difficult,” Lyubushkin added.

After Lyubushkin felt like the Maple Leafs weren’t sincere in their contract negotiations, which led him to sign with Dallas.

The Russian has skated in 353 games recording 5 goals and 42 assists for 47 points.

Lyubushkin Vows to Prove Himself to Stars Fans

Lyubushkin is a physical defender who is eager to prove himself to Stars fans.

The Russian doesn’t care what pairing he plays on as he believes he can play on any pairing and in any role.

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter which pair I play in, what’s important is my role and the team’s goals. I spoke with defense coach Alain Nasreddine, and I know what they expect from me. I’m comfortable with the situation,” Lyubushkin said.

But, Lyubushkin is eager to prove himself to Stars fans as he wants to prove to fans and the team that he is worth the contract.

“I need to prove myself and help the team,” Lyubushkin added.

Lyubushkin has played for the Arizona Coyotes, Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, and the Anaheim Ducks.

Maple Leafs Focused on Defense in Offseason

Toronto focused on improving their defense in free agency.

The Maple Leafs went out and signed Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Jani Hakanpaa. According to Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving, the goal for free agency was to upgrade the blue line.

“We’ve got a group of defensemen. I’d rather have too many than not enough, and we’ll try to sort this out in the coming days. Today’s a day that you can add players, but you build your team over the course of the summer. There are certainly some areas that we still want to address and still want to augment,” Treliving said on July 1.

Toronto also signed goalie Anthony Stolarz to form a tandem with Joseph Woll to try and help keep pucks out of the net.

The Maple Leafs will open its 2024-25 NHL season on the road on October 9 against the Montreal Canadiens.