James van Riemsdyk hints at return to Maple Leafs

Just how does former Toronto Maple Leafs forward feel about a potential return to Toronto? The former 2nd overall pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2007 appears to be very open to it. 

Having just wrapped up a five year contract that brought him back to his draft team, van Riemsdyk played for the Leafs from 2013 to 2018, having been dealt to Toronto in June of 2012 in exchange for defenseman Luke Schenn.

He would go on to play in 412 regular season games with the Leafs, scoring 154 goals before electing to return to the Flyers in 2018.

"We'll see what happens, ultimately you wanna be in a place where you're wanted," he said of his free agency plans. "Speaking out of experience of being there last time, it was amazing, unbelievable, and something I'll always cherish. Going off of that, that was all great... most importantly you want to be a good fit with the organization and the coaching staff and how you fit in with all that stuff. We'll see what happens in the next couple of weeks but my experience playing in Toronto was something I'll always cherish and something I'll look back at fondly and definitely something I really enjoyed."

JVR also said that he's been following the Leafs since he returned to the Flyers, owing to the fact that he still knows plenty of players on the team. 

"With having a few good buddies that i had that are still there, you can't help but follow and see how they're doing and see how the team is doing... The margin for error, especially in the playoffs, is just so small, you gotta keep sticking with it as far as giving yourself a chance to be there, sometimes the bounces go your way and sometimes they don't. Ultimately, watching from afar, it seems like they're right there in a lot of these series... never a dull moment when watching and hearing some of the feedback of what could and should be done..."