Nikolai Kulemin re-signs; avoids arbitration

by Michael Stephens on July 20, 2012 in Signings (Free Agency) - 995 Comments

Not too much of this for Kulemin this season (Photo Credit: AP).

Not too much of this for Kulemin this season (Photo Credit: AP).

The Toronto Maple Leafs have re-signed winger Nikolai Kulemin to a two-year, estimated $5.6-million contract this morning.  The Leafs avoided the potentially acrimonious arbitration process, signing the Magnitogorsk native to a deal with a modest cap hit of $2.8-million.

Kulemin, a 2006 second round draft pick, struggled mightily prior to a season-ending finger injury last season, posting career lows with seven goals and 28 points in 70 games.  He scored 30 goals for the Maple Leafs in the 2010-2011 season.

The two-year term means Kulemin will be a UFA at deal’s end, as opposed to a “show me” one-year deal which would’ve seen him become an RFA again next off-season, but there’s little doubting this is good value if Kulemin’s offensive game even half rebounds.

With Kulemin re-signed, the remaining RFAs of significance on the Leafs shrink to Ben Scrivens and Cody Franson.

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