Toronto Maple Leafs, John-Michael Liles sign to four-year contract extension -NHL Update
Toronto Maple Leafs and their veteran defenseman, John-Michael Liles, signed to a four-year contract on Wednesday, January 25, 2012, for a cool $15.5 million with an annual salary cap hit of $3.875 million, which is a drop from his former contract of the
same length.
For the player, staying with the club he likes playing for is more important than taking a little pay cut, since money is not always everything.
“I’m not looking at it like I’m taking a pay cut. I look at it like I’m taking a salary to stay where I want to be”, said Liles, who has a limited no-trade component. “It is the centre of the hockey universe. It’s a place where I’ve really enjoyed playing.
It’s going to be a sellout every night. Hockey is going to be covered. For me, it’s been fantastic”.
Maple Leafs’ general manager, Brian Burke, pulled some strings to acquire Liles, which he still remembers and takes into consideration at every moment with Toronto.
“It’s a special feeling when (GM Brian Burke) traded for me, knowing he wants me here for years to come. You could say I left some (money) on the table. I’m not looking at it that way”, Liles added.
Toronto now has the player acquired for the upcoming four seasons, after which he is eligible to enter the unrestricted free agent market.
So far in the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season, Liles as played in 34 games with Toronto Maple Leafs and has a total of 21 points (4 goals, 17 assists) credited to his name with a plus-minus rating of two.
At the moment, John-Michael Liles has been sidelined by Toronto Maple Leafs due to a concussion acquired during the current season and is expected to be returning on the team roster after the All-Star break.
This season is his first with Toronto as he spent the previous years of his major league career with the Colorado Avalanche, a team which drafted him as the 159th overall pick during round-five of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft and played Liles for
the first time in 2003-2004.
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