Nick Foligno Comments on 'Failure & Regret' with Toronto Maple Leafs

When Nick Foligno heard the news he was going to be a Toronto Maple Leaf he couldn't had been more excited. He tracked down his old man's retro Leafs' hat and made his way north. Unfortunately Foligno's time with the Maple Leafs was not the story book ending he was hoping for and Foligno recently opened up about two things - failure and regret.

Foligno was a guest on the Good Show via Sportsnet FAN 590 and had this to say about his brief stint in Toronto: 

My biggest disappointment was we didn't get the job done, and I unfortunately got hurt. That'll sit with me. Regardless of what Leafs fans think of me, I'm way harder on myself. The fact that I couldn't perform to the abilities that I felt like I was early on killed me inside. It's something I'll regret forever. I was unfortunately dealing with a really bad back injury that was debilitating. There was nerve pain, it shut down my whole right leg. Anything else you can play through a lot of the time. This, I couldn't. I tried. Trying not to hurt the team instead of trying to help the team, that's what it felt like. That bothered me a lot as a player.

I'd do anything for those guys. The way they embraced me when I got there, I have nothing but great things to say about that team. That's why I think it stung so much … that's a group that really felt like they were ready. I am really thrilled at the opportunity Boston's given me to now join a team that I have a lot of respect for and obviously hated playing against all these years. Looking forward to playing with them.

Tough luck for Foligno as he wanted to become a Maple Leafs legend like his dad Mike. Hopefully he can stay healthy in Boston or else he may not be the only one with regret.

Photo credit:  John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports