As per the good people of CapFriendly on Twitter, the Leafs have signed right-shooting defender Justin Holl to a two-way deal.

Holl is coming off a solid season with the Toronto Marlies, where he put up 8 goals, 11 assists, and 19 points in 72 games.  He partnered regularly with hotshot Leaf prospect Andrew Nielsen as the latter worked to develop his game, and Nielsen went on to have a banner rookie season in the minors.  Holl has been rewarded for his reliable work with a nice AHL paycheque.

At age 25, Holl probably doesn’t have too much more growth left in him, and he’s steady rather than spectacular, but he solidifies the right side for an AHL team that needs more defencemen there.  Barring a late blooming or a Leaf catastrophe, we aren’t going to see much of Holl in the NHL.  But that’s okay.  There’s more than one way to measure success in hockey.

Free Agents and Contracts