Bernier Signed: What does it mean?

By Alex Hobson

On August 2nd, 2015, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced the signing of goaltender Jonathan Bernier to a two year contract extension worth $4.15 million annually. The first thing that this signing did was spark the Bernier or James Reimer debates amongst Leafs fans. This is a silly debate, but just because lots of Leafs fans may want to know the details of the contract and why the Leafs paid him the money they did, let's take a look at the good and the bad, what this signing means for the future of the Leafs.

THE GOOD

Let's start off with the good, shall we? The good news is that Bernier is NOT signed long term. This is much like the Nazem Kadri signing, where lots of fans were skeptical and thought that Kadri didn't earn the money he was paid. This really doesn't affect the Leafs too much though, considering they are not pressed up against the cap and it's only for a short amount of time. Whether Bernier is worth $4.1 million or not, the contract is only there for the next two years, and after those two years, the Leafs can decide whether it's a better option for them to trade him and get value back, or keep him and lock him up for maybe three or four years. Bernier got close to the money he wanted, so he has the next two years to play his game and prove to the coaching staff and management that he has the potential to be a true caliber starting goalie. In the end, the good news is that we aren't paying Bernier for very long.

THE BAD

The one bad part I can see in this contract is that Bernier hasn't neccesarily proved himself as a starting goalie. Yes, it's hard to tell if he's a good goalie or not based on the performances put on by the rest of the Leafs team over the past few years, but he hasn't neccesarily been an all star either, which brings us back to the Bernier-Reimer debate. Lots of fans who prefer Reimer believe that Bernier hasn't established himself as a true #1 and that Reimer should be given more of a fair shot at the #1 job. The problem with that is that had the Leafs wanted Bernier to be their backup this year, they would not have paid him the money he wanted. They would have paid him less or possibly released him and found a cheaper backup goalie. It looks like Bernier is going to be the starter over the next few years, which will mean that he'll have all the pressure in the world on him. This could either go very smoothly, or very bad.

IN GENERAL

Leafs fans should not be too skeptical about this contract, considering it's only for the next two years. The Leafs can afford to pay him the money he was asking for and they will get another chance to see what Bernier can do for the Leafs this year. Once the contract expires after the 2016-17 season, then they can decide what to do with him from there.
What do you think about the contract, Leafs fans? Too much or too little? Leave your opinion below.