In hindsight, my request probably cost the Leafs the best deal they could have made for me. Cliff told me which teams were interested, and the first one was Vancouver. The Canucks’ general manager, Pat Quinn—Cliff ’s old friend—was considering sending young prospect Markus Naslund to Toronto for me. At the time, he was only 23 years old and was really just coming into his own, in only his fourth season in the league. He would go on to become a focal point of the Canucks franchise—a team captain, a first-team all-star, and even a Lester Pearson Award winner as the players’ choice of MVP. In 2002–03 he put up 48 goals and 104 points.
Naslund would have had a big impact with the Leafs.
I told Cliff I didn’t want to go to Vancouver. It wasn’t because of the team, but because of the distance from southern Ontario and the long flights. It was just too far from away where I needed to be in my life.
Cliff understood. He said there were three other teams interested in me: the Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers and the New Jersey Devils. I told him I was okay with any of the three, and then left him to do his job. I didn’t know where, but I knew I was going somewhere soon.
My time as a Maple Leaf was done.