Leafs Ink Antropov To Two-Year Extension
Posted June 6, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t exactly have the greatest 2006-07, but that hasn’t stopped them from restocking their roster with some of the faces that helped them miss the playoffs for the second straight year. On Wednesday, another of those Leafs was re-inserted into the fold, when the club agreed with Kazakh forward Nik Antropov on a two-year contract extension.
The big 27-year-old scored 18 goals and recorded 15 assists in 54 games with the Leafs last year.
“Nik has continually progressed and evolved into a power forward who contributes offensively and provides size amongst our top six forwards,” said Maple Leafs general manager John Ferguson Jr. “He is a player we wanted to bring back and who will continue to be a valuable player for us.”
Still, one could argue the expectations set for the towering winger at the start of his promising career haven’t been met in full, and the oft-injured Antropov’s solid but modest totals last season were career highs in goals, power-play goals and shots on goal. Career wise, Antropov has 78 goals and 111 assists in 374 games with Toronto since being selected as the team’s first choice, 10th overall, in the 1998 draft. Consistent with the organization’s policy, the deal’s value hasn’t been released.
His first act as a Canuck? To sit and sign autographs for a group of kids. “It’s a great country … to raise a family and just a great community here and good fans,” he said. “That’s what I like about it and I decided to become Canadian.”
And the hockey’s not bad, either.
Photo courtesy Getty Images/Dave Sandford
