I don't know if he refused to sign or they decided they don't want to sign him. If he's not signed by August, he becomes a UFA, so what Toronto traded for is exclusive negotiating rights for 5 months. Even though it's only a 6th-round pick, it's something, so they must see something in him to make them want to get the jump on the rest of the market. I assume they've actually scouted him and aren't just looking at the fact that he's 6'6".
I really like this deal actually, Webber is a towering 6'6 LD whose skating and defensive abilities are the center points of his game. Locks it down very effectively in his own end, and I doubt we would've gotten someone better in the 6th round in 2 years time. Im going to assume Webber informed Carolina he wasn't going to sign there, thus the trade. This is a fantastic gamble for the Leafs
what I love about leafs fans is how they can turn the most obscure random player into the next bobby orr or wayne gretzky.