The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired center Brian Boyle from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Byron Froese and a second-round draft pick in 2017.
The trade is the second major deal in as many days for the selling Lightning, as general manager Steve Yzerman continues to move players in what has been a disappointing season in Tampa. On Sunday, the Lightning traded longtime starting goalie Ben Bishop to the Los Angeles Kings.
"It's disappointing in the fact that what we had in Tampa, our expectations for this year weren't met," Boyle said on a conference call. "But there is a business side to it and you don't really know what's going to happen regardless. You just hope that if you do get moved, you go to a good place, and I'm very excited about where I'm headed."
The Lightning are seven points back of the Maple Leafs, who hold the second and final wild-card spot in the East. Boyle quipped that he "moved up in the standings in the matter of a couple hours," and expressed excitement about joining young players such as No. 1 pick Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner.
Boyle provides depth down the middle after Matthews, Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak, along with penalty-killing prowess and faceoff expertise. Former teammate Patrick O'Sullivan tweeted that Boyle, considered a mentor, is "versatile on the ice and great for the room. The kids get a good leader."
Boyle brings veteran depth at center to the young Maple Leafs and has played more playoff games (100) than any NHL player since 2011, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
"Playoffs are obviously by far the most fun hockey I've ever been able to have a chance to play," Boyle said.
Boyle called it a pleasure to play for the Lightning for parts of three seasons and said he'll miss his friends there and the connections with Yzerman and coach Jon Cooper. While in church on Sunday he tried not to think about the trade deadline, only to get the call during his pregame nap roughly 48 hours before the March 1 deadline.
A bit thrown off by the mixed emotions, Boyle is intrigued to join the Maple Leafs, a team he has watched since younger players were thrown onto the ice after the trade deadline a year ago.
"They have some guys in there that are just phenomenal, phenomenal players that are going to be really good," Boyle said. "When I came down to Tampa I was excited about the opportunity and there was a younger team, relatively untested, and we went to the Cup final that year. So the potential and the opportunity is there, and I think the skill level is for sure there."
Boyle is set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, and the Lighting have salary-cap concerns heading into 2017-18, which made Boyle's return to Tampa Bay unlikely.
Boyle has played in 603 career NHL regular-season games, collecting 166 points (93 goals, 73 assists) and 470 penalty minutes. He has also appeared in 100 NHL postseason games with the Lightning and Rangers, tallying 26 points (15 goals, 11 assists).
At 6-foot-6, he'll add size to the Maple Leafs' lineup. Boyle has also won 53 percent of his faceoffs this season to go along with 13 goals.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.