Brian Burke said he wanted more team toughness when he signed on as GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs and he went out and got some in rugged Colby Armstrong.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound right winger had 15 goals and 29 points in 79 games with the Atlanta Thrashers last season after scoring 22 goals and 40 points in 80 games the year before.
Armstrong, 27, signed a three-year deal with a salary of $3 million a year and will add some grit to a team that was on the smallish side up front last year. While he had never hit the 100 penalty minute mark in his five-year career, he is an energy player and one of the NHL’s hardest body checkers. He is not a first-liner, but will fit in nicely on the second or third line.
