NHL-NEWS: The top defense for the Florida Panthers has officially signed a contract with the Boston bruins. According to ESPN, the elite defence got a three-year, $23.6 million contract after…..

Minutes after NHL free agent market opened, Leafs agree to deals with defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and goalie Anthony Stolarz.

The NHL free agent market hadn’t even been open for five minutes before reports surfaced the Maple Leafs had signed a pair of players from the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers: Defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and goalie Anthony Stolarz.

Ekman-Larsson, a veteran puck-moving defenceman, signed a four-year deal at $3.5 million a year. The 32-year-old had nine goals, 23 assists for Florida in a career-reviving season. He’s reunited with Leafs GM Brad Treliving, part of the management group that drafted him in Phoenix sixth overall in 2009.

Stolarz, 30, has been a career backup but might see more action with the Leafs than the career-high 28 games he saw with the 2021-22 Anaheim Ducks. The six-foot-six goalie posted a .925 save percentage as Sergei Bobrovsky’s back up. He signed a two-year deal at $2.5 million a year.

The Leafs also re-signed goalie Matt Murray to a one-year deal for $875,000. Murray missed the entire season due to hip surgery. The Leafs used three goalies last year: Woll, Ilya Samsonov and Martin Jones.

Meanwhile, there were also multiple reports that Tyler Bertuzzi is leaving the Leafs for the Chicago Blackhawks for a four-year deal, with an annual average value of $5.5 million.