The Toronto Maple Leafs announced the signing of defenseman Nicolas Mattinen on Sunday. At 6'6", 225 Lbs, the right-shooting defenseman is one of Treliving's largest signings. Mattinen is a former Leafs draft pick who never signed an entry-level contract (ELC) after junior.
The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Mattinen in the 6th round of the 2016 NHL draft with the 179th overall pick.
Mattinen decided to play for the University of Ottawa once his junior career concluded instead of signing a contract with the Leafs. He spent three years with the University of Ottawa, although he only played two seasons due to the pandemic shutting things down for the 2020-21 season.
Once Mattinen left the University of Ottawa, he went to play over in Europe. He spent last season with the Straubing Tigers of the DEL in Germany. Mattinen registered 16 goals and 30 assists for 46 points in 52 games. The Leafs have a lot to like about Mattinen. He has both size and offensive ability. His one-year, two-way contract will begin next season and is worth $775,000.
(All stats from eliteprospects.com) (Salary Info from capfriendly.com)
Mattinen will join the Toronto Marlies for the rest of this season on a professional tryout (PTO). During his time with the London Knights, Mattinen was a teammate of Leafs forward Mitch Marner. Mattinen is good in the neutral and offensive zones but not so good in his own defensive zone. He will need to work on his defense if he's ever going to get a shot at being called up to the Leafs.
Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Chas Sharpe
The Toronto Marlies announced the signing of defenseman Chas Sharpe on Sunday.
They signed him to a two-year AHL contract, which will begin next season. Like Mattinen, Sharpe will be on a professional tryout with the Marlies for the remainder of this season.
Sharpe is a 6'3", 194 Lbs right-shooting defenseman from Orillia, Ontario. He registered 19 goals and 34 assists for 53 points in 67 games this season for the Mississauga Steelheads of the OHL. An organization can never have enough defensemen, so it's nice to see the Leafs and Marlies addressing that need for extra defensemen.
There is a lot of uncertainty with the Leafs defense group for next season. Only Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe, Conor Timmins, and Simon Benoit are signed for next season. If the Marlies lose a prospect like Topi Niemela to the Leafs next season, having Mattinen and Sharpe will help make things less painful.
The Leafs also signed Cade Webber earlier this weekend.