The Maple Leafs announced that they have agreed to terms with on a two year contract with their last remaining restricted free agent, defenseman Martin Marincin. The deal will pay him $1.2MM in 2016-17 and $1.3MM in 2017-18 for a cap hit of $1.25MM. Marincin was scheduled for a salary arbitration hearing on August 2nd.
Marincin joined Toronto last offseason in a draft day trade with the Oilers. In 2015-16, he suited up in a career high 65 games for the Leafs, picking up a goal and six assists. He also logged 16:46 per game, a career low after averaging nearly 19 minutes a night in two partial seasons with Edmonton. In his career, the 24 year old has played in 150 total NHL games between the Maple Leafs and Oilers, recording two goals and 16 assists while averaging 17:59 per game.
Toronto now has nine defensemen on one-way contracts for next season, including Jared Cowen whose attempted buyout is now heading for arbitration as well as Stephane Robidas who missed all of last season due to injury.
[Related: Updated Maple Leafs Depth Chart]
With all of their arbitration-bound players now signed, the Leafs will have a 48 hour buyout window that will open up on Monday.
With the signing, Toronto has just $435K in cap space according to Cap Friendly. This amount does not factor in any potential LTIR savings, such as Nathan Horton and his $5.3MM cap hit. GM Lou Lamoriello will now likely turn his focus to securing a veteran backup goaltender for newly-acquired Frederik Andersen. The team was linked to Jhonas Enroth over the weekend but a deal has yet to be finalized.