The Leafs actually emerged as winners of the Zaitsev sweepstakes last June, when they flew Zaitsev to Toronto for a tour of the city and a meeting with Mike Babcock and Brendan Shanahan. CSKA GM Sergei Fedorov acknowledged a few weeks ago that he was aware the entire season of Zaitsev’s decision to sign with Toronto at the end of his KHL contract (which expired April 30).
The Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings among others were reported as having expressed interest in Zaitsev in recent years. The New York Rangers invited him to their prospect development camp in 2012, while the Flyers were said to be keen on prying the defenceman out of the KHL dating back several years.