The Toronto Maple Leafs signed pending free agent defenceman Justin Holl to a three-year contract worth $6 million, or $2 million per season. This contract carries him through the 2022-23 season.
.@MapleLeafs sign defenceman Justin Holl to three-year extension worth $6 million.https://t.co/lw83kzHYSl
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 31, 2019
Justin Holl Re-signs with the Toronto Maple Leafs
Over his three-year NHL career, Holl has played exclusively for the Maple Leafs. He has put up three goals and 11 assists for 14 career points in 51 career games. He was originally drafted in the second round, 54th overall of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks.
This season, he’s scored one goal and 10 assists for 11 points. He also added 23 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 53.8 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of 0.8 percent.
What This Means for the Future
Holl has been a blessing in disguise for the Maple Leafs this season, playing solid defence on a team that lacks it. For a player that didn’t make his NHL debut until he was 26, he’s turned into a quite serviceable asset. Holl has seen his ice time creep over 20 minutes in recent games due to the absence of defender Jake Muzzin in the lineup and has handled it well.
While two million bucks a season may seem like a steep price tag for someone with 51 career NHL games, Holl has seen massive improvements in his game this season and has flourished under the coaching of Sheldon Keefe. Offence is not his strong suit — their forwards, Tyson Barrie and Morgan Rielly provide plenty of that. His stellar defensive positioning generally allows his defensive partner to be a little more creative with the puck, leading to more offensive chances for Toronto.
If anything, the three-year term benefits both team and player in this scenario. Holl gets a solid paycheck and career certainty really for the first time, while Toronto can retain an integral piece of their defence at a decent price for a decent term.
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