Ahead of the March 8th trade deadline this past season, the Leafs made a sneaky-good, under the radar trade, acquiring Cade Webber from the Carolina Hurricanes for a sixth-round pick. A month later, following the end of his season at Boston University, they signed Webber to a two-year entry-level deal that saw him report immediately to the Toronto Marlies, burning a year off of his ELC.
After announcing new contracts for Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz on Monday morning, which stole headlines, the Leafs also announced that they had signed Webber to a two-year extension, which kicks in for the 2025-2026 season and carries an $825K cap hit.
The first year of his extension is a two-way deal, while the second is a one-way deal.
The 6'7, 208-pound blueliner is not known for his offensive prowess, having just 16 points over four seasons in the NCAA, but he was a defensive standout and was named defensive defenseman of the year in the Hockey East Division.
Webber is the prototypical big defenseman that both GM Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube prefer and the extension shows that they are fond of his development since joining the Marlies in April. As Webber continues to develop, it will be interesting to see just how fast the Leafs bring the 23-year-old up to the big club as he spent the first-round with the Leafs skating as a 'black ace' last season.
POLL | ||
7 OCTOBRE | 1602 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Announce Multi-Year Contract Extension for 6-Foot-7 Defenseman How long until Cade Webber plays for the Leafs? | ||
This season | 489 | 30.5 % |
Next season | 757 | 47.3 % |
2-3 years | 356 | 22.2 % |
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