The Maple Leafs acquired Webber's rights on Mar. 7 in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick.
The Maple Leafs acquired Webber's rights on Mar. 7 in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick.
The Maple Leafs have officially signed Boston University defenseman Cade Webber.
Toronto has inked the 23-year-old to a two-year entry-level contract which begins immediately and carries an annual average value of $875,000. Webber will burn the first year of his contract given it was signed on the final day of the regular season, meaning he will be a restricted free agent following next season.
The defenseman and Boston University's season ended last Thursday when the team lost 2-1 to Denver University in overtime of the Frozen Four. In the regular season, Webber tallied six assists through 38 games with Boston. He also set the new NCAA single-season blocked shots record with 133.
Webber spent four seasons with Boston University, playing 123 games and scoring one goal and 15 assists. He was also named Hockey East's Top Defensive Defenseman for the 2023-24 season.
The Maple Leafs acquired Webber's rights from the Carolina Hurricanes on Mar. 7 in exchange for Toronto's 2026 sixth-round pick. Carolina drafted the defenseman in the fourth round (99th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft.
"He's a long defender. I know people might look at his stat line. He's a defense-first guy. He's a big body. He moves well, moves the puck well. But his calling card is defending, penalty killing, those types of things," Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving said following the trade deadline on Mar. 8.
"He's a guy who's a little bit further along in terms of his development. Chris Bourque (Toronto's College Free Agent Scout) [did] a lot of work on this. This is a guy he's tracked hard. When the opportunity came to acquire him, we did."
For this signing to be possible, Toronto needed to send one of Nick Robertson or Matthew Knies to the Toronto Marlies as a paper transaction, given they're the only ones on the Maple Leafs who are waivers exempt.
The player will return to the Maple Leafs roster once the playoffs begin on Saturday when there is no salary cap.
"The goal is to go straight to the NHL," Webber told The Athletic's Joshua Kloke, in an interview earlier this season. "But whatever (the Leafs) think is best for me and whatever the best fit is going to give me the best chance to get to that level."
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