Conor Peniston-Bird
With Connor Brown coming to the end of his ELC at the end of this season, he will need a new one. What does he deserve? More than you think.
Brown has been seen as the gap filler, a guy who can do the hard work and help a certain Auston Matthews increase his points total. Being older than the teen sensations many see him as a lower-line player, which may be true, but he is point scoring natural. He as a OHL Most Outstanding Player award alongside the AHL’s Highest Scoring Rookie. At even-strength he has more points per 60 than Kadri and Nylander.
It’s his defensive work that makes him worth noting and worth paying. Attacking prowess is in the Leafs organization in spades, defensively? Not so much. He anticipates plays before they happen, which has more than made up for his lack of skillset. His positioning, when his team are in trouble is exceptional. He’s also quick when the puck is dumped into the Leafs zone, keeping the teams’ tempo high.
On the Penalty Kill, Brown has worked his skates off, helping the Leafs to the 3rd best PK in the league at 85.4%. It hasn’t all been perfect for Brown and he can go missing in games where the team is struggling,
He deserves a 4-year contract at about $2.5m-$2.95m per year. If Toronto can get him at that price it’ll bode well for the coming years and cap-space as they will have a vast amount of contracts to sign, and players to pay.