The Maple Leafs took care of a pair of their unsigned young forwards, as winger Carter Ashton and center Peter Holland agreed to new deals.
Ashton accepted the Maple Leafs qualifying one-year, two-way deal for $850,500, while Holland agreed to a two-year contract extension, totaling $1.55 Million($775,000 per season).
The 23-year-old Ashton was acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning in February 2012 in exchange for defenseman Keith Aulie and had impressive offensive numbers for the AHL Toronto Marlies last season, scoring 16 goals and seven assists in 24 regular season games, as well as nine points(4G, 5A) in 12 playoff games.
That success has not translated to the NHL thus far, as Ashton has only three assists in 47 career games with the Leafs, but those low totals are mitigated by playing mostly on the fourth line with energy forwards and enforcers like Colton Orr and Frazer McLaren.
Holland, who was selected by Anaheim 14 picks ahead of Ashton in the 2009 Draft, was traded to Toronto in mid-November for defenseman Jesse Blacker and a 2014 second round pick.
The 23-year-old showed flashes of offensive ability with the Leafs in the absence of centers Tyler Bozak and Dave Bolland, with five goals and five assists in 39 NHL games and produced at a point-per-game pace with the Marlies(12 goals, 13 assists in 25 regular season and playoff games). With the exodus of numerous veteran depth forwards and the promotion of Marlies head coach Steve Spott as an assistant to head coach Randy Carlyle, Ashton and Holland will likely get an opportunity to play a more prominent role and see more ice time with Toronto in 2014-15.
Both players are no longer exempt from waivers to go freely from the Marlies to the parent club, which could give them a leg up on making the Leafs over veterans Orr and McLaren, who have one-way deals for next season.
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Following up on his theoretical column regarding Toronto-based players like John Tavares, PK Subban and Steven Stamkos emulating LeBron James and coming home to play for the Maple Leafs, Adam Proteau of the Hockey News received reaction from numerous sources throughout the league that this scenario is not as far-fetched as some would imagine.
One source indicated that the Markham, ON native could sign with the Leafs when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2016, but it would take a max deal (20% of the salary cap) to make it happen, while others have said that Stamkos-Leafs rumors have been circulating for years.
The addition of a superstar player to the fold is something that the Leafs have been unable to do in the modern era(to my mind Mats Sundin was not a superstar) and is the type of big splash that MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke likes to make(but there is doubt that Leiweke will be in Toronto two years from now).
If nothing else, it will be interesting to discuss and argue about until Stamkos slams the door on the possibility by signing an extension with the Lightning.
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The Toronto Marlies followed suit in promoting from within, as assistant coach Gord Dineen was named their new head coach replacing Steve Spott, who joined Randy Carlyle's staff with the Leafs.
The 51-year-old Dineen had a brief head coaching stint with AHL's Iowa Chops in 2008 and served as an assistant to Dallas Eakins and Spott in Toronto the last five seasons. During his tenure, the Marlies have gone 202-139-17-30, won three AHL North Division titles and made a trip to the Calder Cup Final in 2012.
Assistant coach Derek King was named associate coach.
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