Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Luke Schenn is congratulated by teammates after scoring the game-winning overtime shootout goal against the St. Louis Blues in NHL preseason hockey action in Toronto on Monday, Sept. 29, 2008.Frank Gunn
There are reports stay-at-home defenceman Luke Schenn has agreed to a deal to stay a Toronto Maple Leaf.
Details have not been announced officially, but TSN's Bob McKenzie is reporting the Leaf's first-round pick from the 2008 entry draft inked a five-year $3.5-million deal.
Schenn is entering his fourth season with the Leafs.
Back in August, Schenn expressed confidence the deal would be done by the time camp opened on Sept. 16.
While he didn't say whether he was hoping for a long-term deal, he told The Globe and Mail "I love playing in Toronto ... I want to be part of the future going forward, be part of the reason things turn around here to get us into the postseason."
Schenn's deal removes him from a short list of restricted free agents without deals, which still features Kings defenceman Drew Doughty, Islanders forward Josh Bailey and Coyotes forward Kyle Turris.
In terms of comparable deals around the league, Jeff Schultz (Washington Capitals) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks) have signed a new deals recently.
Like Schenn, they averaged between 20 and 23 minutes ice time a night the past three seasons.
Schultz and Vlasic have salary cap hits of $2.75-million and $3.1-million, respectively, next season.
With files from James Mirtle and Canadian Press