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A few days after acquiring him in return for a 7th round pick and Max Ellis, the Toronto Maple Leafs have agreed to a six-year contract at an average annual salary of $4.5 million to defenseman Christopher Tanev.
The pact, worth a total of $27 million, was announced by the team Monday morning, less than two hours before the opening of the free agent market.
Tanev is the ideal defenseman for the playoffs and the Maple Leafs will certainly hope that his contribution will help the team reach the next level in their conquest of the Stanley Cup.
“It’s not like I’m leaving Dallas to go to a team that hasn’t had success the last few years. There’s a ton of elite talent and a new coach, a Cup champion, he’s going to bring a different aspect, a different style of play maybe to the way we want to play here,” Tanev said.
His offensive skills are limited, but Tanev isn’t afraid to use his body to block shots, as evidenced by his 207 blocked shots in 2023-24, the third-highest total in the NHL.
The 34-year-old guard was acquired by the Stars during the season and helped Dallas reach the Western final. He received a salary of $4.5 million last season.
Physically imposing, Tanev has 33 goals and 190 in the Bettman circuit. Upon his arrival in the NHL, Tanev accompanied the Canucks to the Stanley Cup final in 2011, even if he was limited to five games.
Four seasons for Ekman-Larsson in Toronto
Toronto continues its shopping spree at the defensive level.
The Leafs have agreed to a deal with veteran Oliver Ekman-Larsson for four seasons and $3.5 million annually.
Ekman-Larsson just celebrated his first Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers. The 32-year-old Swede helped the Florida team for a season with 32 points in 80 games. He added six points in 24 games during the playoff run.
He signed a $2.25 million deal last summer.
Unlike Tanev, Ekman-Larsson has good attacking skills. In 14 seasons in the National League, he compiled 471 points in 982 games.
Drafted 6th overall in 2009 by the Arizona Coyotes, he also wore the Vancouver Canucks uniform for two seasons.
Three more years for Woll
The Maple Leafs also signed a three-year contract extension to goaltender Joseph Woll. The deal will be official at noon since he still has one season left on his contract, which pays him $766,667 annually.
When his next contract kicks in in 2025-26, Woll will earn an annual average of $3.66 million.
Aged 25, Woll is seen as the team’s possible No. 1 goalie in the years to come. Selected in the third round of the 2016 draft, Woll played 25 games this season and posted a 12-11-1 record, a 2.94 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage.
He also participated in three playoff games, during which he excelled with a goals-against average of 0.86 and an efficiency of .964.
In 39 NHL games, Woll has a record of 23-13-1.
To support Woll, the Leafs also signed Stanley Cup champion Anthony Stolarz to a two-year deal. The deal is valued at $2.5 million per season.
The 30-year-old American played in goal for the Florida Panthers for 27 games last season, collecting 16 wins. He now has a 2.03 goals-against average while blocking 92.5% of shots directed at his net.
