Matthias ‘all smiles’ after Maple Leafs deal

Watch Canucks Shawn Matthias put Brian Elliott on his backside with a pretty breakaway deke.

Another worthy, low-risk free agent, another short-term deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Forward Shawn Matthias, formerly of the Vancouver Canucks, agreed to a one-year, $2.3-million contract with Toronto, the club announced Monday morning.

The 27-year-old forward, who can play both centre and wing, quietly enjoyed a stellar season in Vancouver, a team too tight on salary cap space to keep him in the fold.

Matthias’ career-high 18 goals in 2014-15 ranked third among all Canucks, a mark he reached playing bottom-six minutes and without the benefit of power-play looks. Plus, he stayed out of the box, registering just 16 penalty minutes.

The Mississauga, Ont., native was originally drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He was acquired by Vancouver as part of the 2014 trade that sent Roberto Luongo to Florida.

In 408 career games between Vancouver and Florida, Matthias has collected 131 points (69 goals, 62 assists) and 137 penalty minutes.

Matthias’ new deal signifies a raise from the $1.79 million he was earning annually on his previous contract.

According to hockeyscap.com, Toronto has $13.6 million in salary cap space after the Matthias signing.

July 6, 2015

|

Shawn Matthias
SIGNED BY
Toronto Maple Leafs
LENGTH
1 yr
CONTRACT TYPE
Free Agency
SALARY CAP HIT
$2.3 million
TOTAL
$2.3 million

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.