Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf
The Toronto Maple Leafs and captain Dion Phaneuf have agreed to a seven-year contract extension.
Financial terms of the deal were not announced but previous reports pegged the total at $49-million US.
The team confirmed the signing via Twitter on Tuesday morning with the hashtag #PhaneufSigned along with photos showing the defenceman signing the new deal with general manager Dave Nonis.
"Dion is our team leader and has been a pillar in our building process," Nonis said in a statement released by the team. "He has proven to be a very durable and reliable defenceman in all facets of the game. He plays big minutes in every situation for us and we're pleased to have him under contract for the next seven seasons."
The announcement was made one day after the latest installment of HBO's '24/7' series, which revealed the Maple Leafs and Phaneuf had agreed to terms of a new deal but were just waiting to settle a few other details of the contract, such as a no-trade clause.
Phaneuf leads the team in ice time at 24:21 a game and has four goals and 11 assists this season.
With the signing, the Maple Leafs have now locked up forwards Phil Kessel (2019-20), Joffrey Lupul (2017-18), David Clarkson (2019-20), Tyler Bozak (2017-18) and James Van Riemsdyk (2017-18) to long term deals.
The Maple Leafs are preparing to play the Detroit Red Wings in the Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium on New Year's Day.