As per Darren Dreger, the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed restricted free agent Jonas Gustavsson to a two year deal worth $1.35M per season. Chemmy took a look at his comparables earlier this year and this deal surpasses even that optimistic outlook:
I'd say a fair offer at this point for Gustavsson would be a shorter term deal, 2-3 years at between $1.5M and $1.75M. That's a decent raise that's probably more than he'd get in arbitration at this rate and gives him a chance to prove that he's worth more money to a club right around the time he's 28.
This deal is a boon to the Toronto Maple Leafs' cap situation and a testament to both Brian Burke's negotiating skills and Jonas Gustavsson's desire to be a Maple Leaf. He surely appreciated the Leafs' acquisition of Francois Allaire and Jean-Sebastien Giguere as supports to ensure that he reaches his potential. He will have one more year of apprenticeship with Giguere and hopefully after a healthy season the Leafs will be able to decide if he is the goaltender of the future.
This signing should also give some hope that James Mirtle's estimates won't be met and Nikolai Kulemin will come in at a cheaper price than anticipated.