It is official Komisarek is a Leaf

Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke wanted to add toughness to his team and that’s exactly what he got when on Wednesday he made a huge splash in the free agent market by signing bruising defenceman Mike Komisarek. Last season with the rival Montreal Canadiens this 27 year-old delivered a team leading 191 hits and also led Montreal with 207 blocked shots. Even though this former seventh overall Canadiens pick in the 2001 Entry Draft had only 11 points, part of his strength is his high competitive level. ‘We are extremely pleased to add a player with Mike’s ability and leadership qualities to our lineup,” Burke said about Komisarek who signed a five year 22.5 million deal. “He’s a respected competitor in this league and we know that he will bring his hard nosed approach to our team on a consistent basis.” Hours before signing with the Leafs Montreal got into the sweepstakes when they offered the blue-liner a five year 20 million deal to re-sign. What makes this deal he signed with Toronto so unique is that it has a limited no trade clause where every September he will submit a list of 12 teams he would accept a trade to. This allows Toronto to have some control in case things don’t work out either for Komisarek or the team.