The Toronto Maple Leafs added a veteran defensive presence on Tuesday, signing Stephane Robidas to a three-year, $9 million deal, per TSN.
Robidas, 37, had a nightmarish 2013-14 campaign that featured two major leg breaks -- one in late November that sidelined him for the majority of the regular season, and another one in the playoffs (after Anaheim acquired him at the deadline from Dallas).
When healthy, Robidas can be a highly effective blueliner. During the lockout-shortened ’13 campaign, he appeared in all 48 games and averaged over 22 minutes a night for the Stars, recording 13 points. He also showed well for the Ducks after coming off the first leg break, appearing in 14 regular season games down the stretch while racking up five points and playing 20:37 per night.
In Toronto, he’ll be part of a new-look defense that also includes Roman Polak, acquired form St. Louis at the draft in exchange for Carl Gunnarsson. At the time of writing, the Leafs project to have a top-six defense of Robidas, Polak, Dion Phaneuf, Morgan Rielly and -- assuming they can get new deals done -- Jake Gardiner and Cody Franson, both of whom are RFAs.
