Toronto Maple Leafs sign free agent centerman coming off career-best season
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Jacob Quillan just had the best season of his pro career, and it may have quietly made his path to Toronto's roster harder, not easier.
The undrafted center re-signed with the Maple Leafs on a one-year, two-way contract worth $850,000 at the NHL level, letting his arbitration deadline pass to take the extension.
He is coming off 36 points in 40 regular-season games with the Marlies, plus a Calder Cup run that added to the NCAA title he won at Quinnipiac in 2023.
That production earned him a raise. It did not earn him a clearer shot at an NHL job.
The regime that signed him is gone
Quillan's entry-level deal was handed to him in April 2024 by Brad Treliving, who was fired last spring.
The front office that inherited him, led by John Chayka and Mats Sundin, owes nothing to the story of how he arrived.
Chayka spent the summer importing his own bottom six. Nick Paul, Colton Sissons, Teddy Blueger, Brandon Duhaime and Jack Roslovic were all brought in to play the exact depth-center minutes Quillan was climbing toward.
So the better Quillan played, the more crowded his lane became. The two-way structure is the tell here, keeping him waiver-exempt and shuttle-ready rather than penciled into the NHL roster.
Why the cheap deal still works for both sides
For Quillan, one year keeps him close to first-recall status and sets up a bigger restricted free agent case next summer with arbitration in hand.
For Chayka, the deal is nearly free insurance behind a rebuilt group of veterans. If injuries hit, a Calder Cup center is one phone call away.
This is the quiet cost of a front-office overhaul for a young player. You can play your way to a raise and still watch the depth chart above you get taller.
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