Peter Holland has been signed to a two-year, one-way contract worth $775,000 a season, Anthony Petrielli of Maple Leafs Hot Stove has learned.
Holland is going to make 775K/year over his two-year deal. That's great value for a guy who could be a productive 3C over the two years.
— Anthony Petrielli (@APetrielli) July 16, 2014
Holland would’ve had the option of accepting a one-year, two-way $850,000 qualifying offer as fellow former first round pick Carter Ashton did earlier today, but obviously opted for the guaranteed NHL salary of a one-way deal over two years. It appears to work out nicely for the Leafs.
If the 23-year-old Holland can serve as the third line center during this contract and do so capably, $775,000 a season is really good value, assuming his NHL production begins to grow as his AHL numbers would suggest it can.
The new contract also means Holland is waiver prone, so there will be no bouncing up and down this season or else the Leafs would lose the former first round pick who was acquired for a 2nd round pick and Jessie Blacker last November.
This season should be Holland’s first full-time opportunity in the NHL for a significant stretch of games, and hopefully Randy Carlyle integrates Holland a little better than last season. A lace-bite injury that required a longer recovery than first anticipated didn’t help matters, but he only played about 11 minutes and change on average as Carlyle opted to elevate Jay McClement and really lean on the veteran when injuries struck at center.
Regardless, bygones are bygone and Holland should be looking at a nice opportunity coming this Fall. Leafs management deserves some credit for making the development-geared move of letting a coach’s favorite in McClement — who it should be said did serve the club well in his more natural 4C role — walk and, as Shanahan put it, “giving our young players opportunities. We want to have competition. We want to create that internal pressure, that there are jobs to be had here.”
Decent day. Sign a new contract and dunk a hole-in-one!! No bounce, straight in pic.twitter.com/6htaUvUwEn
— Peter Holland (@PeterHolland13) July 16, 2014