Whether the Toronto Maple Leafs want to hire Rob Blake from the Los Angeles Kings or not, it doesn’t sound like the idea is getting much traction.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Blake hasn’t been contacted by the Leafs, and furthermore, he wants to stay in Los Angeles anyway.
“He’s in a great spot with the Kings,” Friedman told host George Strombolopolous on Hockey Night in Canada. “He has a home out there. He’s not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.”
Of course, those who might be confident in Toronto’s seductive powers may argue that a simple conversation - perhaps with Brendan Shanahan - could very well change Blake’s mind (or at least make him more open to the idea).
Then again, Blake may understandably prefer to stay in sunny California with a franchise that has two recent Stanley Cups rather than land in the pressure cooker that is Toronto.
Anyway, it sounds like those rumors can be put to bed, or at least put on pause.