Newest Maple Leaf Forward Turned Down Another Canadian Team

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced forward Zach Aston-Reese has been signed to a professional tryout with an invitation to training camp. Turns out the Maple Leafs were not the only team trying to get ZAR into camp.

According to Mark Spector of Sportsnet, the Edmonton Oilers were also interested in Aston-Reese, however the veteran forward decided the Maple Leafs served up the best opportunity for playing time.

Aston-Reese is a banging forward who loves to forecheck and is defensively responsible. He won't be much of an offense weapon, which doesn't matter as the Leafs are looking to round out a fourth line that's extremely tough to play against.

Last season Aston-Reese split between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Ducks where he appeared in 69 total games, tallying five goals and 15 points. He ranked 11th in NHL forwards last season with 231 hits, the highest ranked Maple Leaf was Wayne Simmonds, who placed 49th with 145. There's no doubt Dubas is trying to do whatever he can to create a forechecking presence among his bottom-six. Adding a crash-and-banger like Aston-Reese will certainly help.