The Toronto Maple Leafs have finalized a deal with one of their restricted free agents, signing defenseman Connor Carrick to a one-year contract. The deal will carry a $1.3MM salary according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. Carrick will still be an RFA at the deal’s conclusion, meaning the Maple Leafs have plenty of time to decide whether or not he’s a long-term option on the blue line.
Earning an average of just $750K the last two years, Carrick has been moved in and out of the lineup by head coach Mike Babcock. In 47 games last season he registered 12 points, but couldn’t beat out Roman Polak and others for a full-time role on the third defense pairing. Despite his positive possession statistics and above average puck-moving ability, Babcock didn’t trust him on the penalty kill and seemed to prefer more defensive-minded players in that roster spot. Still, with Polak scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer Carrick represented one of the few right-handed options in the organization, with just Nikita Zaitsev, Justin Holl and prospect Timothy Liljegren representing the other legitimate NHL options. Though Ron Hainsey, Morgan Rielly and Travis Dermott have all spent time on the right side, many coaches prefer to keep defensemen on their strong side more often than not.
Carrick came over to the Maple Leafs from the Washington Capitals organization where he was a fifth-round pick in 2012. After putting up huge offensive numbers in the minor leagues, many hoped that he could bring some of that scoring flair to the NHL. That hasn’t been the case with just 30 points in 167 NHL games, but at just 24 years of age there still could be more potential waiting to be unlocked with more regular playing time.
The Maple Leafs figure to have an incredible amount of cap space to spend this summer, though they have to worry about contracts for some of their best players before long. Carrick’s contract doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be getting much more playing time than the past few seasons, as the team could bring in another more established option on a short-term deal in free agency, or acquire a more long-term solution through trade.