Top 5 Worst Toronto Maple Leafs Free Agent Signings of All Time

2. Mike Komisarek

Five year $4.5M AAV, 7.9%

When Brian Burke was hired to be GM, he had a vision; “We require, as a team, proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence.”

Mike Komisarek was that vision personified so of course, when given the opportunity in his first free agency period, Burke moved heaven and earth to sign him. 

Unfortunately, Komisarek was not a great defender and his physical game did not translate to suppressing shots against. In fact, his high volume of penalties taken nearly made him a liability on the ice. His first season he was held to only 34 games due to a shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery.

The next year he played 75 games and despite logging nearly 20 minutes a night his first season he saw his icetime plummet averaging less than 14 minutes. 

The next season, injuries continued piling as he suffered a broken arm that required surgery, holding him to only 45 games on the year. Partially due to the lockout in 2013-13 and partially due to a freak eye injury, Komisarek played only four games for the Leafs before being waived and demoted to the Marlies.

Following that year, the team used one of their compliance buyouts granted to them from the lockout on Komisarek to cut the contract short one year. 

The fact he played less games than Marleau while being signed longer term and for the caphit being so high, this deal lands at two. Luckily, the Leafs were essentially bailed out of this contract due to the new CBA giving teams two compliance buyouts.