Maple Leafs, GM Nonis agree to five-year extension

The Toronto Maple Leafs and general manager David Nonis have agreed to a five-year contract extension, the team announced Thursday.

Nonis, 47, became the 15th GM in franchise history on Jan. 9, 2013. The Maple Leafs went 26-17-5 last season and advanced to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2004, securing the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference with 57 points. Nonis joined the Maple Leafs in the role of senior vice president of hockey operations on Dec. 6, 2008.

"Ownership and management felt it was critical to extend David now for a lengthy period of time and to reward him for the progression of the Leafs and [Toronto] Marlies," said Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive officer of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. "This extension will allow David the time to build his kind of team to produce steady results, year after year. Everyone is excited about his ability and grasp of the NHL landscape, and today's new contract agreement will offer the Leafs consistency and a long-term vision."

Nonis said, "I'm very grateful to Tim Leiweke and our ownership group for this contract extension. Together with our hockey operations staff, we'll continue to patiently put the building blocks in place which will lead us to future success."

A native of Burnaby, British Columbia, Nonis began his hockey management career in 1990 with the Vancouver Canucks following a collegiate career at the University of Maine, where he was captain of a team that went to back-to-back NCAA championship tournaments.

After his first stint with the Canucks, he joined the NHL as manager of hockey operations in 1994. He returned to Vancouver in 1998 as the team's senior vice president and director of hockey operations. On May 6, 2004, he was named the youngest GM in the history of the Canucks.

Nonis also served as GM of Canada's National Men's Team for the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia.