Unable to find a contract through free agency, forward Brad Boyes has reached an agreement with the Toronto Maple Leafs to take part in their training camp on a PTO, joining other veteran forwards Curtis Glencross and Devin Setoguchi.
Brad Boyes to attend Toronto #mapleleafs camp on #PTO #NHL
— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) September 10, 2015
Boyes, 33, had been bought out unexpectedly by the Florida Panthers in the week prior to the beginning of free agency. The decision came to a surprise as Boyes had a decent year in Florida with 14 goals and 38 points in 78 games, maintaining a +11 (second best on the club) with four game winning goals. Boyes had two goals and an assist in the final five games with the Panthers so it certainly wasn’t a case of an early scoring streak led by a dry spell. Boyes was to make $2.5 million on a $2.625 million cap hit for one final year before the Florida Panthers decided to part ways with the Mississauga native. He will cost the Panthers $958,333 in 2015-16 and $833,333 in 2016-17.
It seems apparent that some were wary to sign him to a contract because of his age but even then, it made no sense for the Florida Panthers to let him go if they were just going to take Marc Savard’s contract later on to reach the cap floor. Boyes has always been an underrated player, even when he put up 72 points on the St. Louis Blues in 2008-09. It’s important to note that Boyes has a weapon in his arsenal that the Leafs would love to have on their roster: he’s one of the best shootout specialists in the league. While two goals in seven shots in 2014-2015 isn’t very impressive, his total in the previous five seasons was 25 goals in 48 shots, a 52% shootout rate.
