The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Monday that they inked defenceman Cade Webber to a two-year extension, which will kick in for the 2025-26 season.

According to The Athletic’s Chris Johnston, the contract is valued at $1.65 million and carries a cap hit of $825,000. The first season of Webber’s contract is a two-way while the second year is a one-way.

The 6’7″ and 208-pound blueliner was first acquired during the 2024 trade deadline when the Leafs acquired him from the Hurricanes for a 2026 sixth-round pick. Expressing his desire to join the team as soon as he completed his senior season with Boston University, Webber eventually signed a two-year ELC towards the end of the regular season. He was a reserve player for the Leafs during the playoffs where he regularly practiced with the main group but was not utilized at any point in the first-round series against the Bruins.

Our 13th-ranked prospect focuses primarily on defending and being responsible in his own end. Webber won’t provide much offence but he will take pride in blocking shots, creating separation on his opponent, and getting the puck to his teammates to bring the rush going the other way. His defensive acumen was highly regarded this past campaign as he was named Hockey East’s best defensive defenceman.

In 38 games with Boston University last season, Webber only recorded six assists in that span. In fact, he has only scored one goal during his entire time in college so it is clear that is not going to chip in much offensively.

Webber has been making a strong impression with his defensive play during summer camp and training camp, even getting some mentorship from former Leafs blueliner Jake Muzzin since joining the organization.

“After I was traded here, he called me and introduced himself and we’ve been back and forth, little teaching points about my game,” Webber said of Muzzin to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun during player development camp. “Trying to pick up everything I can from him. A good guy to look up to.”

While he is most likely going to spend the majority of this upcoming season with the Marlies, this extension signals the Leafs are impressed with the strides taken in his development and believe he can be a useful piece for their backend soon. Webber certainly fits the mould of how Brad Treliving wants to build his defence, so he is certainly an intriguing prospect to keep an eye on.

The move comes as the Maple Leafs also announced the signings of Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz to one-year deals.