The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Connor Dewar to a one-year contract worth $1.18 million, the team announced Tuesday.
Dewar was previously scheduled to go to arbitration but both parties reached an agreeable framework ahead of an impending court date. He elected for salary arbitration on July 5, joining 14 players in their search for an agreeable framework prior to the 2024-25 season. Toronto previously extended a qualifying offer to Dewar on June 30.
The 25-year-old recorded four goals and 14 points in 57 games with the Minnesota Wild, before the Maple Leafs acquired him at the trade deadline. Dewar posted one goal and five points in 17 regular season games, and added one assist in six playoff games during Toronto’s first-round loss to the Boston Bruins.
It’s a slight raise on the $800,000 Dewar made the past two seasons and effectively affords him a place on Toronto’s fourth line for the 2024-25 season, where new head coach Craig Berube will almost certainly tinker with the lines in pursuit of a deep playoff run.
Dewar effectively acts as a defensive specialist for the Maple Leafs and Toronto controlled just over 51 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5 when he was on the ice. He’s capable of playing either centre or wing and at this juncture, he will likely slot in as the Maple Leafs’ fourth line left-winger, provided Berube doesn’t have specialized designs for Dewar. Although he provides limited offense, Dewar is often deployed in neutral-zone or defensive-zone starts and can maintain the pace, while the rest of Toronto’s high-powered offense that led in the NHL in 5-on-5 goals last season carries a disproportionate weight.
Toronto is pressed against the cap and some would’ve preferred if the team signed a free-agent with some scoring punch, but running back a defensively-inclined incumbent at a market-value deal isn’t the worst possible outcome for Brad Treliving and his staff. It’s now incumbent upon Dewar to make a larger dent on the Maple Leafs than his initial stint with the club.
