Previous Story
Leafs sign G Bernier to two-year extension
Posted On Aug 02 2015
Comment: Off
After the Toronto Maple Leafs elected for salary arbitration with starting goaltender Jonathan Bernier, the two sides settled before the arbitrator was able to render a decision.
That comes after the Maple Leafs and Bernier went into Friday’s arbitration hearing with vastly different asking prices as Bernier was requesting a one-year deal worth $5.1 million while Toronto countered at $2.89 million. A team that’s both cash- and cap space- rich (the Leafs haven’t had much of the latter in a long time) is in a prime position to take a cap problem off of some other team’s hands along with some assets as the sweetener, or add a piece outright in a hockey trade.
The team and the 26 year old Quebec native were miles apart when the arbitration process began, spending almost five hours in the room discussing and negotiating what the new deal should look like. Although the porous defense in front of Bernier in all of his Toronto seasons likely skewed his stats out of his favor, it’s still hard to ignore a few key factors – mainly that even if Bernier does level out save percentage-wise, his butterfly-first style of netminding make him a liability for injuries. 916 save percentage in 175 career games.
By signing Bernier for two, the Leafs bought up one year of unrestricted free agency.
First off, Bernier is coming off a pretty poor season, only his second as a full-time starter in the National Hockey League.
“I was happy we were able to get a deal done…”
The Leafs are expected to go into their third straight season with Bernier and James Reimer as their goaltending tandem. A pair of rebound seasons from Bernier could lead to the same situation.
December 18, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri (43) skates with puck against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. “Now I can focus on training camp and get ready for the season”, Bernier said in a tweet posted by the club on Sunday. “I think the guys are excited to come back and guys are motivated with the new coaching staff”.
