Emil Andrae is officially a Toronto Maple Leaf after signing a two-year deal on Saturday and helped solidify the blueline for Jim Hiller as they head into the season.
Toronto continued their signing spree but it wasn't for someone hanging around the open market, but instead a defender they have high hopes for as the club announced they have signed Emil Andrae to a two-year contract on Saturday.
The team officially announced the signing on their social media:
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The deal comes with a cap hit of $1.55-million per season which is a pretty good steal all things considered and is on par with what Toronto was paying Simon Benoit last year, albeit with a slight increase in pay.
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Emil Andrae was the one Maple Leafs who could have been stolen away
Andrae, 24, had 13 points in 61 games for the Flyers last season and was acquired earlier in the summer in the Joseph Woll trade that also sent Benoit to Philadelphia. There is no current indication of where Andrae will slot into the lineup, but it's clear the Maple Leafs have a plan in mind.
The signing comes in the wake of what I would call 'offer-sheet fever'. For a tactic that is so often under-utilized by NHL front offices, we saw Leo Carlsson receive an absurd five-year, $90-million offer sheet from Philadelphia (they are coming up a lot here, aren't they?) and there's reports that Pavel Mintyukov is getting serious attention from several teams given his RFA status.
Andrae would have been able to sign an offer sheet if one was presented to him, but with Chayka locking him up it prevents him from going anywhere, and it becomes more clear that his inclusion in the Woll trade wasn't just spare parts to make it happen.
The two-year deal doubles as an audition for the post-Morgan Rielly blueline
This signing does push the Maple Leafs over the cap even more than they already were, but they have still a lot of moves to make including a potential Morgan Rielly deal and it's why Andrae is here for a couple of years.
We're trying to see how the team can function without Rielly at the helm, and if he's gone then we are going to need to find his replacement.
Darren Raddysh is great, but the team still lacks that true #1. Andrae won't be that, but he can put in a strong season that helps Toronto make their decision a little easier.
Andrae will get a lot of opportunities this season to show what he can do, and at only 24 he's got a lot of room to grow. Right now, Rielly is still on the team so we'll have to see where he ends up, but it's likely that Andrae will get time alongside Oliver Ekman-Larsson or Chris Tanev on the third pairing and he can work his way up.
Don't expect Andrae to come out of nowhere and be one of the greatest offensive defenders in the game, but given that he'll have a chip on his shoulder and brings everything the Maple Leafs want - he could surprise a lot of people.
Do you think the Emil Andrae contract signing was a good deal for the Maple Leafs?
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
The Maple Leafs have a chance to get aggressive as offer sheets start flying