Restricted free agent forward Connor Brown has signed a three-year contract extension worth $2.1 million annually with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team announced Saturday night. He is now locked up through the 2019-20 season.
Maple Leafs sign Connor Brown to 3-year, $6.3 million contract
Toronto now has its entire roster under contract for next season.
Brown was the final unsigned player for Toronto, which is looking to make a playoff run next season after adding Patrick Marleau and Ron Hainsey to an up-and-coming roster. The team is over the cap at the moment, per Cap Friendly, but that’s not accounting for the long-term injured reserve status of Nathan Horton and Joffrey Lupul.
At a $2.1 million cap hit, Brown could provide strong value to the Maple Leafs. He’s coming off a breakout season with the team in which he recorded 20 goals and 36 points in 82 games. He also played over 160 minutes on the penalty kill, showing the ability to chip in on special teams.
The Maple Leafs may shake up their lines next season with the addition of Marleau, but Brown should fill in a top-nine winger role somewhere on the depth chart. He’ll be more than worth his contract if he can keep putting up 35-plus points each season, and having affordable depth players will be crucial for Toronto given the raises it’ll be forced to pay to key players in coming years.
Brown will be a restricted free agent again when the deal expires, although he’ll have arbitration rights as he’ll be one year from unrestricted free agency status. At that point, it’ll be interesting to see whether the Leafs can even afford him with new deals for Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander on the books.
The Maple Leafs drafted Brown in the sixth round (No. 156 overall) in the 2012 NHL draft. He put up 90 points in 110 AHL games with the Toronto Marlies during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons before getting the permanent call to the NHL last season.
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