The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed defenseman Martin Marincin to a one-year contract the team announced on Thursday. Chris Johnston reports that the deal is a one-way contract with a $700K value.
The Leafs acquired Marincin in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers this summer that sent forward Brad Ross and the 107th pick in the 2015 NHL Draft back to Edmonton. The Oilers did not qualify Ross, who was a restricted free agent.
Marincin scored one goal and four assists through 41 games with the Oilers last season. It was just Marincin’s second NHL season, but the 23-year-old defender has had some offensive success at the AHL level and is thought to have some upside. In the 2012-13 season, he posted seven goals and 23 assists for the Oklahoma City Barons through 69 games.
The marjority of his upside may be in his defensive game. He absorbed rough zone starts last season to the tune of a -13.1% ZSO%Rel and still posted a score-adjusted
The Leafs have a heap of one-year deals they’ve put together with Marincin joining Nazem Kadri, Shawn Matthias, P.A. Parenteau, Richard Panik, Mark Arcobello and TJ Brennan in the one-year contract club. Like with Marincin, all these players — with the exception of Kadri, who could be the team’s top line center — get a chance to prove themselves on a thin team where they should be able to battle for solid ice time and a better contract next summer. It also provides the Leafs with a lot of options at the trade deadline to acquire a few extra draft picks.
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