Maple Leafs sign Hyman to 4-year, $9M extension

The Toronto Maple Leafs re-signed forward Zach Hyman to a four-year extension worth a total of $9 million, the team announced Wednesday.

The contract will pay Hyman $2 million in 2017-18 and 2018-19, and $2.5 million in 2019-20 and 2020-21, coming in at an annual average value of $2.25 million.

The move puts the Maple Leafs nearly $4 million above the $75-million salary cap for next season at $78.929 million.

Hyman was used in a variety of different roles last season, but his most common linemates at five-on-five were Auston Matthews and William Nylander. He scored 10 goals and added 18 assists while playing 82 games and averaging 16:42 of ice time.

A fifth-round pick of the Florida Panthers in the 2010 draft, Hyman broke into the NHL as a 23-year-old in the 2015-16 season, playing 16 games and finishing with four goals and six points.

He was mostly the third offensive choice on the Maple Leafs' unofficial top line, and finished the season with 156 shots on goal but a horribly unlucky shooting percentage of just 6.4. Defensively responsible, Hyman owns a Corsi For rating of 52.5 over his two seasons, though he's started a staggering 61.6 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone.