The Maple Leafs signed the undrafted defender Marshall Rifai to an AHL deal in 2022. He played 69 games in his first pro season after four years at Harvard. Last summer, he was signed to an NHL contract, and was called up and played in two games for the Leafs. He turned in another 57 in the AHL.
This new extension, which takes effect next year, will see him through to age 30 on minimum salary at the NHL level. The Leafs are not forthcoming about the details of the contract beyond the AAV, so we don't know yet if this is a one-way or a two-way.
Rifai has looked very plausible in games in preseason, but the defence depth on the Leafs last season was enough to withstand a lot of injuries. It's not all that likely that he's going to get a chance at NHL games unless he forces the team to pay attention in training camp even more than they did last year.
Even though the Leafs don't have any open roster spots, this training camp is still a very big deal for a lot of players.
The #LeafsForever signed 26 y/o LD Marshall Rifai to 2 year $775K Cap Hit extension starting 25-26
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) September 5, 2024
$775K NHL Salary 1-way both yrs
He's in final year of 2 year $775K 2-way deal & was set to be UFA next summer
19P in 57 AHL GP
Rep'd by Matt Keator WINhttps://t.co/ejQI4pkody
