We have a signing. On Tuesday afternoon, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they had signed forward Connor Dewar to a one-year contract which comes with a salary cap hit of $1.18 Million per season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs avoid salary arbitration with their forward who was among 14 NHL players that were set to go to a hearing to determine their contract for the upcoming season.
Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving traded for the now 25-year old right before the trade deadline ended this past season from the Minnesota Wild. The cost to acquire the forward was 21-year old Russian prospect Dmitry Ovchkinnkov and a fourth round selection in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
With the Wild, Deward had collected ten goals and 14 points in 57 games. Once he joined the Maple Leafs he was assigned to a fourth line checking role and on the penalty kill unit where he collected one goal and five points in the final 17 games of the season averaging 12:54 of ice-time per night.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Re-Sign Connor Dewar
The Gilbert Plains, Manitoba native played primarily center in his 173 career games with the Wild, however, once he came to Toronto he moved to the wing playing beside David Kämpf. On the penalty kill, Dewar averaged over two minutes per night and he looks to be one of the main focal points going forward this season in the same role.
Dewar was a former third round selection by the Minnesota Wild in 2018, the same draft the Maple Leafs selected Rasmus Sandin in the first round and also include Sean Durzi, as well as current teammate Pontus Holmberg.
Dewar showed offensive upside in the Western Hockey League with the Everett Silvertips recording 74-goals in his last two years of Major Junior hockey, however that has not translated yet to professional hockey as he has taken more of a defensive forward role.
Dewar's style of hockey and cap hit makes him a prime subject to be a fan favorite this season. While he doesn't blow players away with his physicality he does average around 1.5 hits per game, and when you add in that he does not take many penalties and has a high hockey IQ it will lead fans to recognize him of a bit of a quiet underdog player who is easy to root for.
The Maple Leafs are now left with three restricted free agents, one being Nicholas Robertson who has requested a trade, another being Alex Steeves who has continued to make attempts to push from the AHL to the big club and finally Semyon Der-Arguchintsev who played last season in the KHL after playing the previous two seasons with the Marlies.