Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Cody Ceci to One-Year Deal

The Toronto Maple Leafs appear ready to take a bet on a player whose style many believe goes against their organizational preference.

After being the subject of intense speculation upon being acquired by Toronto, Cody Ceci has now officially signed a one-year contract with the Maple Leafs that will apparently see him play actual minutes with the team next season.

The AAV of the deal is reported to be $4.5 million, per CapFriendly.

Locking down Ceci, from the Leafs’ perspective, does not make a whole lot of sense. Ceci was one of the worst possession players in the entire NHL during his tenure in Ottawa, repeatedly looking outmatched whilst playing top-pairing minutes and seeming completely incapable of moving the puck in transition. The Maple Leafs just traded a defenceman who fit that exact same archetype, Nikita Zaitsev, as the central piece in the deal which brought them Ceci.

And now to pay him an identical figure to Zaitsev’s? What is the angle here?

That being said, Ceci is not Zaitsev. For one, Zaitsev horrendous deal still has five years remaining before completion compared to Ceci’s one. If this was simply about cutting down term when it came to relatively similar players, then Kyle Dubas put his team in a better position than which it entered the summer.

But Ceci reportedly mentioned on Sportsnet’s radio program Good Show this week that he had spoken with Mike Babcock and the intention was to pair him with either Jake Muzzin or Morgan Rielly to begin the year. That is, uh, not a great start to Ceci’s tenure.

Perhaps the lone silver lining to this acquisition upon its completion was that Ceci had the potential to thrive in an expectedly sheltered role. The Maple Leafs simply do not need to trot him out on their number one pair after nabbing Tyson Barrie later that same day and, therefore, Ceci would be put in a position that better fits his skill set.

It’s a terrific possibility in theory. Alas, that approach, while optimistic, ignores the Babcock factor.

After being stripped of practically every one of his former “gritty” roster toys this summer, it’s entirely likely that Babcock views Ceci as the lone old-school player left at his disposal and proceeds to use the 25-year-old in mind-numbingly infuriating ways.

This is a coach who simply cannot be trusted to make the correct decision whenever he stands at a crossroads. Ceci is a particularly enticing crossroads, Babcock may not be capable of controlling himself.

Regardless, the Maple Leafs will have roughly $9 million to work with after placing Nathan Horton on LTIR to begin the season. With Mitch Marner still in need of a new contract, Dubas’ work is almost certainly not finished. And if he’s looking to cut fat along the margins, Ceci’s hefty $4.5 million price tag seems as good a casualty as the organization can offer.

Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading!