Leafs keep the wheels turning, sign 24-year-old forward
The Leafs announced today that they have signed 24-year-old Josiah Slavin to a 1-year AHL contract. Slavin spent last season in the AHL and split time between the Rockford Ice Hogs and San Diego Gulls.
Slavin spent 3 seasons with Rockford where he registered 50 points in 115 games before registering 7 points in 16 games with the Gulls at the end of last season. The 6'3 center will likely find himself in the bottom six for the Marlies forward group this upcoming season.
Slavin is the younger brother of Hurricanes' defenseman Jaccob Slavin and was selected in the seventh round in the 2018 draft by the Colorado Avalanche.
As we continue to await the announcements of new deals for both Auston Matthews and William Nylander, the Leafs are in a bit of a holding pattern in terms of signing additional deals to address needs with the big club. The fact of the matter is that, until Brad Treliving knows how much of the cap that Nylander and Matthews are going to eat up beginning in 2024-25, it's going to be tough for the Leafs to commit term to other players, hence the trio of 1-year deals for John Klingberg, Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi.
Having said that, the Leafs appear to have turned their attention to trying to fill out their AHL roster for the upcoming season. Slavin's signing is the 6th deal that the Marlies have completed this week.
