Liles Signs Four-Year Extension With Leafs

JM Liles Signs Big Four-Year Extension With Toronto

Official Toronto Maple Leafs Press Release: Brian Burke, President and General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced Wednesday that the hockey club has signed defenceman John-Michael Liles to a four-year contract extension. Liles, 31, has played 34 games for the Leafs this season, collecting 21 points on four goals and 17 assists. He ranks second among Leafs defencemen in points, and has recorded two assists in a game on four occasions. The Indianapolis, Indiana native is currently third on the team in average ice-time per game (21:32) and fourth in blocked shots (69). The Leafs originally acquired the 5-10, 185-pound defenceman on June 24, 2011 from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. The second-round pick was previously acquired by the Leafs from the Boston Bruins as part of the Tomas Kaberle trade. In 557 career NHL games with Toronto and Colorado, Liles has registered 296 points (72 goals, 224 assists) along with 230 penalty minutes. He has also played in 36 playoff games earning four goals, seven assists, 11 points and 16 penalty minutes. Prior to being acquired by the Leafs he led all Colorado defencemen in points for five consecutive seasons (’06-07 to ’10-11). In 2003-04 he was named to the NHL’s All-Rookie team. He was originally Colorado’s eighth choice, selected 159th overall, in the 2000 Entry Draft.

CONTRACT DETAILS: Length: 4 Years (2012-13)-(2015-16) Cap-Hit: $3,875,000 Pay-Out Details: 2012-13 - 2015-16 $3,875,000 Contract Clause Details: 2012-13 - 2015-16 Limited No Trade Clause

Reaction:

This is a really solid signing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. John-Michael Liles is one of the best puck-moving defensemen in the entire National Hockey League. In his 7 year NHL career (not including this season), he has had over 30 points in every season and he's on pace to once again get over that amount. The Leafs acquired Liles this past off-season from the Colorado Avalanche, who originally drafted him, for the Boston Bruins' 2nd round draft pick in the 2012 draft. The Avalanche then traded the pick as an option (Capitals will choose at the draft whether they want this or a 2013 2nd) to the Capitals. 

This season was the first that Liles has played for a team other than the Colorado Avalanche, and luckily for the Leafs he continued to play the same effective offensive style that made him so successful in Colorado.  In his first 34 games with the Leafs he put up 4 goals and 17 assists for 21 points along with a plus/minus rating of plus-2. His performance on the power play has been a big reason for the Leafs improvement in that category as they went from the 8th worst power play to the 5th best power play. Despite missing the past 15 games, Liles still has the 4th most power play points of all players on the Leafs. 

Probably the only concern about this contract is Liles' health. Up until last season Liles was generally considered a player in good health. Aside from the common few games here and few games there, he never had any serious concerns, but last season he suffered a concussion that kept him out the final four games of the season and hindered him for the first few weeks of the off-season. That by itself wouldn't be terrible, but now that he has suffered another concussion and has been sidelined for the past 15 games, serious concerns have been raised about a possible concussion problem. 

If he can overcome the concussions and stay healthy this will be a terrific deal for the Leafs.