Philippe Myers’ 2-year extension reignites competition among Leafs’ bottom-six defencemen

Philippe Myers entered training camp on the outskirts of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ roster, but head coach Craig Berube and general manager Brad Treliving crave internal competition, and he’s been rewarded for his showing to date, signing a two-year extension worth $850,000 annually on Friday. Myers outperformed Timothy Liljegren — who has been since traded to the San Jose Sharks — during training camp, and he’s coming on strong, after initially struggling to find a place in the lineup.

Myers couldn’t get into the mix, with Conor Timmins winning the No. 6 spot outright over a handful of candidates, including Liljegren and Marshall Rifai — who was sent down to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on Friday. When he eventually slotted into the lineup, he submitted a dreadful performance against the Boston Bruins on October 26, where he appeared to be fighting the puck. Myers evidently took it to heart, and when he re-emerged in the lineup on December 2, he came back as a totally renewed player, getting four shots on goal in a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Jake McCabe, Chris Tanev, Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are firmly entrenched as Toronto’s top four defencemen, but from there onwards, it’s an open competition. Simon Benoit was the team’s positive surprise last season, but his penchant for taking risks in the defensive zone and getting caught out of position when trying to go for the big hit, has often led to poor results. Toronto controls just 41 percent of the expected goals when Benoit is on the ice, and his grasp on the No. 5 side isn’t exactly tenuous, but he’s not getting a resounding vote of confidence either.