Goaltender and the have agreed to a two-year contract value $eight.three million.
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The $4.15 million average annual figure ranks Jonathan Bernier 24th among National Hockey League goalies and places him in the same salary range as Ondrej Pavelec, Steve Mason, Craig Anderson, and Devan Dubnyk.
The agreement Sunday came after Bernier and the Leafs went to team-elected salary arbitration but before the arbitrator could hand down a ruling.
Bernier, a local of Laval, Quebec, had a 2.87 goals-against common and. 912 save percentage. In his first season with the Leafs, however, he posted a 26-19-7 record, 2.68 goals-against average and.
Toronto still doesn’t have a good team on paper, but the hope is that it will at least be less prone to falling apart with Mike Babcock behind the bench. 916 save percentage. The extra year will be one that Bernier could have used as an unrestricted free agent, starting next summer.
I want to be part of the Maple Leafs and this rebuild.
General Manager Lou Lamoriello was active in the Bernier arbitration since being hired two weeks ago.
Bernier’s agent, Pat Brisson, countered with (US) $5.1 million for consideration, more than what some goalies with better stats are making.
With such disparity between his first two seasons as a full-time starter, the 26-year-old nonetheless has fairly a bit to show.
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This will be the third straight season with Bernier and James Reimer splitting goaltending duties, and Lamoriello implied it’s back to being an open competition. If that does end up happening, the Maple Leafs should be well positioned to give him a longer-term deal at that point.
