<p>Philippe Myers entered training camp on the outskirts of the Toronto Maple Leafs&#8217; roster, but head coach Craig Berube and general manager Brad Treliving crave internal competition, and he&#8217;s been rewarded for his showing to date, signing a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-sign-philippe-myers-2-year-extension-850k-annually">two-year extension worth $850,000 annually on Friday</a>. Myers outperformed Timothy Liljegren — who has been since traded to the San Jose Sharks — during training camp, and he&#8217;s coming on strong, after initially struggling to find a place in the lineup.</p>
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<p>Myers couldn&#8217;t get into the mix, with Conor Timmins winning the No. 6 spot outright over a handful of candidates, including Liljegren and Marshall Rifai — who was sent down to the AHL&#8217;s Toronto Marlies on Friday. When he eventually slotted into the lineup, he submitted a dreadful performance against the Boston Bruins on October 26, where he appeared to be fighting the puck. Myers evidently took it to heart, and when he re-emerged in the lineup on December 2, he came back as a totally renewed player, getting four shots on goal in a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.</p>
<p>Jake McCabe, Chris Tanev, Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are firmly entrenched as Toronto&#8217;s top four defencemen, but from there onwards, it&#8217;s an open competition. Simon Benoit was the team&#8217;s positive surprise last season, but his penchant for taking risks in the defensive zone and getting caught out of position when trying to go for the big hit, has often led to poor results. Toronto controls just 41 percent of the expected goals when Benoit is on the ice, and his grasp on the No. 5 side isn&#8217;t exactly tenuous, but he&#8217;s not getting a resounding vote of confidence either.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">11 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 12 SOG, 17:08 TOI, 1:34 ShTOI, 29 hits, 15 blocks, 53.19 xGF%</p>
<p>Myers has been a solid depth piece, and I think he might be capable of more in a regular role. Good deal to keep him around. <a href="https://t.co/nuuUMMSZHK">https://t.co/nuuUMMSZHK</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Nick Richard (@_NickRichard) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NickRichard/status/1875224819706556913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Timmins, who essentially cut out his risk profile during a stellar training camp, has morphed back into some of the bad habits that often rendered him a healthy scratch under Sheldon Keefe&#8217;s supervision. And Myers&#8217; extension has re-opened the conversation surrounding the Maple Leafs&#8217; No. 6 spot. Myers has been primarily paired with Morgan Rielly and they&#8217;re controlled 59.7 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5, with a positive shot and chance differential. A lot of this is due to Rielly&#8217;s renewed attention to detail as a defender, which has come at the expense of his offence, but it&#8217;s also a reward for his strong play since December.</p>
<p>Of course, Timmins has a largely body of work to draw from, but him and Myers have effectively played to a draw this year. Myers is now under contract through the 2026-27 season, as the Maple Leafs have built a defensive core around Rielly, Tanev, McCabe (who signed a five-year pact earlier this season) Ekman-Larsson, and Benoit, who is signed through 2026-27 as well. Timmins enters this summer as a restricted free agent and while it&#8217;s not always zero-sum, Myers&#8217; extension rewards the Maple Leafs&#8217; faith in him, and is an obvious sign that they believe in his ability to operate as No. 5-7 defencemen through these pivotal years.</p>
<p>Berube and Treliving crave internal competition and while it&#8217;s an outright reward for Myers&#8217; strong play, it has the dual effect of re-igniting some competition among the bottom of the roster, a sign of a healthy team with grand aspirations.</p>
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Philippe Myers entered training camp on the outskirts of the Toronto Maple Leafs' roster, but head coach Craig Berube and general manager Brad Treliving crave internal competition, and he's been rewarded for his showing to date, signing a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-sign-philippe-myers-2-year-extension-850k-annually">two-year extension worth $850,000 annually on Friday</a>. Myers outperformed Timothy Liljegren — who has been since traded to the San Jose Sharks — during training camp, and he's coming on strong, after initially struggling to find a place in the lineup.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2106" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="324"></div>
Myers couldn't get into the mix, with Conor Timmins winning the No. 6 spot outright over a handful of candidates, including Liljegren and Marshall Rifai — who was sent down to the AHL's Toronto Marlies on Friday. When he eventually slotted into the lineup, he submitted a dreadful performance against the Boston Bruins on October 26, where he appeared to be fighting the puck. Myers evidently took it to heart, and when he re-emerged in the lineup on December 2, he came back as a totally renewed player, getting four shots on goal in a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Jake McCabe, Chris Tanev, Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are firmly entrenched as Toronto's top four defencemen, but from there onwards, it's an open competition. Simon Benoit was the team's positive surprise last season, but his penchant for taking risks in the defensive zone and getting caught out of position when trying to go for the big hit, has often led to poor results. Toronto controls just 41 percent of the expected goals when Benoit is on the ice, and his grasp on the No. 5 side isn't exactly tenuous, but he's not getting a resounding vote of confidence either.

https://twitter.com/_NickRichard/status/1875224819706556913

Timmins, who essentially cut out his risk profile during a stellar training camp, has morphed back into some of the bad habits that often rendered him a healthy scratch under Sheldon Keefe's supervision. And Myers' extension has re-opened the conversation surrounding the Maple Leafs' No. 6 spot. Myers has been primarily paired with Morgan Rielly and they're controlled 59.7 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5, with a positive shot and chance differential. A lot of this is due to Rielly's renewed attention to detail as a defender, which has come at the expense of his offence, but it's also a reward for his strong play since December.

Of course, Timmins has a largely body of work to draw from, but him and Myers have effectively played to a draw this year. Myers is now under contract through the 2026-27 season, as the Maple Leafs have built a defensive core around Rielly, Tanev, McCabe (who signed a five-year pact earlier this season) Ekman-Larsson, and Benoit, who is signed through 2026-27 as well. Timmins enters this summer as a restricted free agent and while it's not always zero-sum, Myers' extension rewards the Maple Leafs' faith in him, and is an obvious sign that they believe in his ability to operate as No. 5-7 defencemen through these pivotal years.

Berube and Treliving crave internal competition and while it's an outright reward for Myers' strong play, it has the dual effect of re-igniting some competition among the bottom of the roster, a sign of a healthy team with grand aspirations.
<h2>Sponsored by bet365</h2>
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Philippe Myers’ 2-year extension reignites competition among Leafs’ bottom-six defencemen

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