How NHL superstar Sidney Crosby almost ended up in Toronto

 in 2004, the league held two drafts: first, their amateur draft and second, their free-agent draft.

The first amateur selection went to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who took none other than the best major junior hockey player available — Sidney Crosby.

After the July 2004 draft, Crosby was offered a three-year, $7.5-million contract from Mario Frankovich, the owner of Hamilton’s franchise. Some confusion was abounded to say the least, given that Crosby was drafted by Toronto but yet Hamilton offered him a contract. Maybe this is why the WHA never took off…

Nonetheless, with a massive contract that would’ve seen Crosby give a $2-million signing bonus had the league formulated or not, he ended up turning down the deal to pursue a Memorial Cup with the Rimouski Oceanic.

“It wasn’t an easy decision and the offer was flattering,” Crosby’s father, Troy, told the Globe and Mail. “It was a lot of money. I realize some people might not understand why Sidney turned down the offer. But he has his mind made up right now about where he wants to play. He wants to stick with his plan of playing another year in Rimouski.” – Source