One day later, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving explained how it all came together.
"We brought Max in, it was probably a month ago now, maybe three weeks ago, for a couple days here where he was very open, obviously going through a medical exam, but he got on the ice for us," Treliving said. "And just seeing where he was at, he feels that he's had a couple of years here, two-and-a-half years where he hasn't had an opportunity to train, right? It's been rehabbing. And he came back last year and jumped in sort of halfway through the season."
"At the end of the year he felt he wasn't where he wanted to be physically and was able to have a full summer of training. And so we'll see."
"Our expectation is he's going to come in, he gives us more depth. All that stuff's going to sort itself out at camp, right? I know we all get excited when we see guys out here,' Treliving said. "But to me, what we're trying to do is make our roster as deep as possible. I think there's going to be lots of people pushing for jobs. Where everybody fits and who they fit with, Craig (Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube) and the coaching staff will figure it out. I'm just trying to give them as many options as we possibly can. But we're excited to see Max, get him up to speed."