According the General Fanager, he has been on a ONE WAY contract the last 3 years.
ONE WAY means he makes the same whether in the NHL or AHL (i think).
He was at 600,000 a year his last 2 years and he is at 675,000 this year.
I look at it the way Mess looks at this; he's part of the development program of the Leafs in so much as he helps players develop on the Marlies by providing above average talent. I imagine (don't know) he's a good role model and helps young players become professional in other facets of the game.
He's well paid, maybe overpaid, (over 1.5 million over the last 3 years) and he gets to do what he loves.
I actually haven't seen the Marlies much and I also can't say I could evaluate his play to say if he's good enough to be a 5/6 NHL Dman but it seems he brings value to the organization in the role that he performs.
His salary does not affect the Leafs cap and as such, this is one of those areas where being a rich team can give you an advantage. I don't think many teams with internal caps can afford to pay AHLers 600,000 a year to help make the team more competitive. Just getting into the playoffs helps in the development of ALL OF THE PROSPECTS and I assume he contributes greatly to the likelihood that the Marlies will be playoff bound this year and likely next year if they keep him there in that role.