The Toronto Maple Leafs announced it has signed Jake McCabe to a five-year extension worth $4.51 million annually.

McCabe was acquired in a February 2023 trade with the Chicago Blackhawks and has established himself as a core member of the team since. The 31-year-old revealed that the team had engaged in extension talks with him prior to the season and McCabe will likely finish his career with the Maple Leafs.

The Athletic’s Chris Johnston revealed that McCabe’s contract includes some deferred money, in order to lower his cap hit. It could be viewed as a team-friendly deal, as he’s firmly in the middle of his prime. The money deferred will take part during the second and third year of the contracts, dropping the annual average value from $4.7 million to $4.5 million, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

McCabe has been primarily paired with Oliver Ekman-Larsson to begin the season, recording three assists in nine games. Last season, McCabe registered eight goals and 28 points in 73 games.

He was primarily paired with Simon Benoit last season. McCabe-Benoit were the Maple Leafs’ second-most used unit during the regular season and playoffs, controlling a 54.1 percent share of the expected goals at 5-on-5 with a plus-five goal differential (21-16) with 522:35 logged, via Natural Stat Trick.

“We’ve talked a couple times. I love it here and I think they enjoy my game too. That’s why you have agents and now it’s training camp time so I’m just looking forward to being with the fellas and ramping up our game,” McCabe said via TSN’s Mark Masters in September.

McCabe provides the Maple Leafs with a solid physical presence, who is capable of logging heavy minutes against top-six competition. He can play with a nasty streak in his defensive end and is constantly sticking up for teammates in skirmishes. He’s also capable of providing secondary offense and the extension indicates that he’ll be part of the team’s continued pursuit of a Stanley Cup during this next phase of the Auston Matthews era.