Hard to complain about the deal.
Make or Break year for Ashton coming up. Either he can be a successful NHLer or not. Just because you put up numbers in the American League doesn't mean they'll carry you to the NHL. He doesn't have the talent to be Top 6 forward, so he'll have to find his niche and contribute elsewhere at the NHL level.
The Leafs also need to put him in a position to succeed. He's not going to get the ice time he gets with the Marlies, but no player should be playing 4 minutes a night. The way Carlyle handled him, other young players, and the 4th line in general last year was a recipe for failure. A 4th line should play between 10-12 minutes a night.
What evidence is there of this? His usage dictated his opportunities.
IMO he was pretty much the same player as Frattin. Hard on the puck, fast, lots of opportunities but lacked finish in a lot of instances. However, Frattin was given 2nd line minutes and Ashton has been mostly on the 3rd or 4th lines.
Ashton is young, and still growing into his frame, as the development curve for power-forwards is slower than that of skill forwards.
Ashton could still wind up capable of top 6 minutes. But frankly, I'm very happy with him as a bottom 6 depth player because of the elements I listed above, and the affordable cap hit that usually goes with players in the bottom 6.
I expect Ashton to be able to get 15-25 goals per season.