The Toronto Maple Leafs have continued to bargain-hunt by re-signing Adam Brooks to a two-way two-year contract.
Locked in at $725,000 for the next two seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs did the right thing by re-signing Adam Brooks today.
Drafted as an over-aged player in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft 92nd overall, Brooks has blossomed into an NHL quality talent.
If you’ve been following the Toronto Marlies closely for the last three years, you’ve continued to see the improvement in Brooks’ game.
Kyle Dubas loved the development so much that Brooks played seven NHL games with the Leafs this season registering three assists.
Toronto Maple Leafs and Adam Brooks
By being drafted to Toronto, Brooks has been blessed with some of the best developmental coaches in the world.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have done a wonderful job over the years getting players ready for their next step and one of the reasons for that has been skating consultant Barb Underhill.
Brooks spoke about his improvement in an interview with TSN’s Kristen Shilton.
"“One area I’ve seen a lot of improvement in myself, and that I still think I can improve upon to stay at that NHL level, is just being a little bit quicker.I’ve been improving my skating and just being stronger all around on the puck. The work that you do with this organization, and especially [skating consultant] Barb Underhill, is incredible. Just the steps that she has made with me already, and that I still want to try to get to as a player, is exciting.”"
With a bottom-six center spot available next season and beyond, this Brooks signing indicates that the Leafs think he’ll be ready to compete for ice time on the team going forward.
Though his career in the big leagues has been short so far – just seven games – Brooks has acquitted himself well. While Brooks was on the ice, the Toronto Maple Leafs got 57% of the shots, and scored 75% of the total goals.
Obviously Brooks got a bit lucky, but he still posted an impressive 54% expected goals rating, which is very, very good. (stats naturalstattrick.com).
He will be one of about ten players making under a million dollars next year who will competing for a job on the Leafs.
This is a low-risk high-reward signing and very beneficial for the Leafs as they continue graduating Marlies into Maple Leafs.