The Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ground running on what is expected to be their busiest off-season in recent memory, by locking up restricted free agents Morgan Rielly and center Nazem Kadri to new six-year contracts.
TSN's Bob McKenzie reports that Rielly was signed a six-year, $30 Million deal ($5 Miliion AAV), while Kadri agreed to a six-year, $27 Million extension ($4.5 Million AAV). Both players have limited no-trade clauses in their deals.
Rielly, 22, led all Maple Leafs defensemen with 36 points (nine goals, 27 assists) in his third NHL season and in the last year of his entry-level deal, while Kadri led the Maple Leafs with 45 points (17 goals, 28 assists) in 76 games this season after signing a one-year, $4.1 Million deal.
Rielly "I think that playing in Toronto is a blessing," #Leafs
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) April 13, 2016
The extension makes sense in the case of Rielly, as comparable young defensemen (John Klingberg, Roman Josi and Adam Larsson) are being locked up long term coming out of their entry level deals. The six-year deal buys up two years on unrestricted free agency for the 2012 fifth overall pick.
The six-year contract for Kadri is slightly puzzling, based on the center's lack of discipline on and off the ice in recent years, but the London, ON native has a believer in head coach Mike Babcock and that may have gone a long way in choosing to sign a long term deal that buys up four years of free agency.
The future ramifications of these signings are undetermined at this point, but it is likely that the long term commitment to Kadri means that the days of Tyler Bozak in Toronto are numbered.
The 30-year-old Bozak has two more years at $4.2 Million and played well under Babcock, but missed over a month with concussion issues late in the season. With rookie William Nylander a likely occupant up the middle next season, the Leafs could move Bozak for depth on defense or for a draft choice.
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Listen to my interview with Leafs former Asst. GM Bill Watters discuss the signings of Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly and other news in Leaf Land,
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