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Jake Muzzin

Snapshots: Muzzin, Oilers, Russia

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When defenseman Jake Muzzin landed on long-term injured reserve earlier in the week, speculation ramped up that the Toronto Maple Leafs could make an unexpected big splash at the Trade Deadline with some added salary cap flexibility. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on yesterday’s edition of 32 Thoughts that Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas is telling teams around the league that if Muzzin “is healthy enough to return before the end of the regular season, they’re not going to hold him out until the playoffs.” That’s to say that the team isn’t operating under the assumption that they’ll have the full $4.47MM in deadline cap space that CapFriendly suggests. While the team is still in a position to add a solid depth piece, or even a higher-end middle-six forward with some salary retention, any chance of Toronto being among the deadline’s biggest buyers is likely gone at this point.

Some more hockey notes on this Sunday:

Jake Muzzin Placed On Long-Term Injured Reserve

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After a series of complicated roster moves earlier in the day, the Toronto Maple Leafs have now placed defenseman Jake Muzzin on long-term injured reserve.

The team made a series of recalls and re-assignments today to get as close to the salary cap as possible, including briefly sending Rasmus Sandin back to the AHL and recalling defensemen Brennan Menell and Kristians Rubins. This permits them to get as much LTIR relief from Muzzin’s $5.625MM cap hit as possible.

Muzzin will be out for at least 10 games and 24 days. But after suffering his second concussion in a short timeframe, Toronto is expected to be cautious with his return.

If Muzzin is healthy before the end of the regular season, Toronto would need to be cap-compliant in order to return him to the active roster. But if Muzzin won’t return until the beginning of the postseason or sometime during it, the Maple Leafs have roughly an additional $5.6MM to throw around at the trade deadline and have those players for the playoffs.

In the meantime, look for Sandin and Timothy Liljegren to see an increased role.

Jake Muzzin In Concussion Protocol; Out Indefinitely

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The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without Jake Muzzin for the next little while, as the defenseman returned home to recover from last night’s scary incident. After being involved in an awkward collision and appearing to slam his head on the ice, Muzzin left the game and was taken to a Montreal hospital. He has now been released,  returned to Toronto, and is “feeling better today” according to head coach Sheldon Keefe, who spoke with reporters including Mark Masters of TSN.

Muzzin, whose 33rd birthday it was yesterday, has had a nightmare season that already included a different concussion. The veteran defenseman has just 12 points in 41 games and has been on the ice for 43 goals against at even-strength, compared to just 34 goals for. That imbalance has been arguably the worst part of the Maple Leafs’ season, as Muzzin had previously been one of the most reliable two-way defensemen in the league, able to match up against an opponent’s best and tilt the ice in Toronto’s favor.

As he leaves, Rasmus Sandin, who was scratched from yesterday’s game, returns. He’ll be joined by newcomer Ilya Lyubushkin, who takes the spot of Justin Holl, who is not expected to play tonight.

Muzzin’s absence though leaves many questions to be answered in Toronto. Will he be able to find his previous level of play, or even be able to return at all? Putting him on long-term injured reserve doesn’t really do the team any good unless he is going to miss the rest of the season, meaning an unclear recovery timeline will only complicate their deadline plans. Hopefully, he’ll be able to recover without issue in the coming days and weeks, even if his return to the ice takes a little longer than that.

Maple Leafs’ Jake Muzzin Returns To Practice

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After missing over two weeks with a concussion, The Leafs Nation’s David Alter reports that defenseman Jake Muzzin is back at team practice today.

Muzzin’s last appearance for Toronto was January 15th, credited with four shots on goal in a rollercoaster 6-5 win against the St. Louis Blues. He’s been out since, putting pressure on Toronto’s defensive depth to step up.

With Toronto playing tomorrow, the first day of NHL games post-All-Star break, they were one of the few teams league-wide to hold a practice.

Through 35 games played this season, Muzzin has a goal and 10 assists for 11 points in 35 games. He’s one of just three players on the active roster with a negative plus-minus rating, a sign of what’s been a tough season for him personally.

Alter also reports that Muzzin wasn’t utilized in the regular defense pairing rotation at practice, though, a sign that his return may not be coming tomorrow against the Carolina Hurricanes. It’s possible that Rasmus Sandin continues to get a look in the team’s top four alongside Justin Holl, in what’s been a solid breakout season for the young Sandin.

Snapshots: Three Stars, All-Star Skills, Muzzin

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The NHL has revealed its Three Stars for last week, with Nazem Kadri taking home the top spot. The Colorado Avalanche forward continues his incredible campaign with eight more points in four games, including three game-winning goals. The pending unrestricted free agent is having quite the platform year and is now just two points shy of his previous career-high in scoring with half the season to play. Sitting at 18 goals and 59 points in 40 games, Kadri is in for a huge contract in the offseason.

Second and third went to Frederik Andersen and Johnny Gaudreau respectively after their own outstanding weeks. The Carolina Hurricanes netminder posted another perfect 3-0 record and now leads the NHL with 24 wins. His .929 save percentage is easily the best of his career and puts him directly into the Vezina conversation. Gaudreau meanwhile is another pending UFA having an incredible year, with the difference being that he’s done this before. He registered 99 points in 2018-19, good enough for fourth place in the Hart Trophy race, and is once again playing at that level. With eight points in four games last week he continues to storm up the NHL leaderboard and now sits seventh in the league with 52 points.

  • The NHL All-Star Skills competition will have a pair of new events this year, as the league announced the Fountain Face-Off and Las Vegas NHL 21 in ’22. The former will take place in the fountains of the Bellagio and will need players to travel by boat to a platform and attempt to shoot pucks at targets floating in other parts of the water. For the latter, contestants will try to achieve a hand of 21 by shooting pucks at card targets out on the Las Vegas strip. Also making a return will be the Breakaway Challenge, where Trevor Zegras will join special guests Manon Rheaume and actor Wyatt Russell for the first time the event has been held since 2016.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs can’t wait for the All-Star break to come, as the team has already ruled out Jake Muzzin their last two matches before the weekend festivities. The veteran defenseman is dealing with a concussion and after skating the last few days, was absent from morning skate today. Head coach Sheldon Keefe explained that Muzzin “is going to take a bit of a step back” through the break as the team’s medical staff continues to monitor him.

Snapshots: Denmark, Harris, Muzzin

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Denmark is the latest participant to announce an Olympic roster for next month’s event, but their’s is a bit more historic. This will be the first time that Denmark has ever participated in hockey after failing to qualify year after year. Last August, Denmark beat Noway in a winner-goes-to-Beijing game that landed them a spot for the first time in history.

The roster includes some familiar names like Mikkel Boedker, Frans Nielsen, Patrick Russell, and Nicklas Jensen, but they will be in a tough group with the Russian Olympic Committee, Czechia, and Switzerland. The full roster can be found here.

  • One of the most interesting things on Kent Hughes’ to-do list as he takes over as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens is trying to sign Jordan Harris, a top collegiate player, captain of Northeastern, and third-round pick that could become an unrestricted free agent later this year. As Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic points out though, Hughes seemingly has a few advantages–or at least some familiarity–in that negotiation. Hughes coached Harris for a time with the Boston Jr. Eagles several years ago, and two of the young defenseman’s college teammates at Northeastern happen to be related to the Montreal GM. Riley Hughes, a seventh-round pick of the New York Rangers (when they were run by Canadiens VP of hockey operations Jeff Gorton, no less) is an alternate captain at Northeastern, while Jack Hughes is a freshman with the potential to be a first-round pick this spring. With the Canadiens already tweeting out highlights of Harris, you can bet they’ll put on the full-court press to get him signed in the coming months.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs will travel to New York to take on the Rangers without Jake Muzzin, as the veteran defenseman suffered a concussion against the St. Louis Blues. Mark Masters of TSN reports that Rasmus Sandin will move up to the second pair in Muzzin’s absence, with Alex Biega re-entering the lineup. Since Justin Holl is still in the COVID protocol, the Maple Leafs will be relying heavily on Sandin and Timothy Liljegren, consecutive first-round picks that haven’t made a huge impact to this point.

Maple Leafs Place Jake Muzzin In COVID Protocol

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NHL players haven’t been tested for COVID by their teams since they left for their holiday break but a handful of players still entered COVID protocol in recent days.  Teams are set to return for testing at 2 PM local time today with practices to follow soon after but before even getting to that point, the Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Jake Muzzin has been placed in protocol.

The 32-year-old has had a quiet year by his standards offensively, notching just one goal and eight assists in 30 games.  However, he’s second on the team in ice time per game at 21:24 per game; only fellow blueliner Morgan Rielly plays more and he just recently entered protocol as well.

In fact, Toronto is now up to 14 players that are currently ineligible to play with Muzzin out for at least the next 10 days.  Some of the earlier placements will soon be able to return but after quarantining for that long, they will need a few days to get their conditioning back to game readiness.  Accordingly, while the Maple Leafs are next set to play against Pittsburgh on Wednesday, it’s hard to envision that game going forward.  More updates for the schedule across the league are expected later today.

Jake Muzzin Out Minimum Of Three Weeks

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The Toronto Maple Leafs’ season may be over tonight, but even if they manage to avoid elimination, Jake Muzzin won’t be back for a while. Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters today including Kristen Shilton of TSN that Muzzin will miss a minimum of three weeks with a lower-body injury. The team will insert Rasmus Sandin back into the lineup in Muzzin’s place for tonight’s all-important game seven against the Montreal Canadiens.

Not only have the Maple Leafs lost their captain this series when John Tavares went down with a concussion and sprained MCL, but now they have lost the leader of their defensive group as well. Muzzin, 32, is the team’s most consistent defender, logging more than 21 minutes a night during the regular season, most of which came against the opponent’s best. The former Los Angeles King is one of just a handful of players on the Toronto roster with championship pedigree after winning the Stanley Cup in 2014.

The Maple Leafs did receive some inspiration at morning skate when Tavares attended in a full-contact jersey, but the veteran center will not be in the lineup this evening. He is still recovering from the brutal head injury he suffered in game one. Jason Spezza told reporters that Tavares’ presence at practice provided even more motivation, saying that “the best thing we can do as teammates is win a hockey game for him and give him an opportunity to get closer to playing.”

They’ll have to do it without Muzzin, but there will be at least a little more support for the team tonight. The Ontario government reversed course this morning and announced that 550 fully vaccinated healthcare workers will be in attendance at Scotiabank Arena. This will be the first time the Maple Leafs have played to a home crowd in over a year.

North Notes: Canucks, Muzzin, Shore, Canadiens

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The Canucks are a team that’s going to be looking to free up some cap room this summer and their situation for next season just got a bit more challenging.  PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that as a result of Quinn Hughes maxing out on his bonuses and Nils Hoglander hitting a games played-related bonus, Vancouver will be facing a $649K bonus overage penalty heading into next season.  With the team being in LTIR for the entire year, they were unable to bank any cap room throughout the season which means that full amount is added to their 2021-22 payroll.

More from the North Division:

  • The Maple Leafs have not yet ruled out defenseman Jake Muzzin for Monday’s seventh game against Montreal, head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including Postmedia’s Terry Koshan. The blueliner left Saturday’s game midway through the second period with a lower-body injury and the team is awaiting results on testing to determine his availability moving forward.  If Muzzin is unable to play, Rasmus Sandin would likely return to the lineup to replace him.
  • The usage of Devin Shore in their final two postseason games suggests that the Oilers will try to retain him this summer, suggests Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal. While Shore has arbitration eligibility, he also cleared waivers twice in the year and managed just nine points in 39 games so it’s unlikely he’d command much more than the $735K qualifying offer that he’s owed to stick around.  Edmonton will need some cheap depth for next season and he could fit in that role for another year.
  • Canadiens winger Artturi Lehkonen took part in an optional skate today but was in a non-contact jersey, relays TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). As a result, his availability for Monday’s game against Toronto appears to be in jeopardy.  He has been out since suffering an upper-body injury in the third game of the series.  Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Laval also announced (Twitter link) that they’ve re-signed Tobie Paquette-Bisson to a one-year, one-way AHL contract.  The blueliner played in 28 games with the Rocket this season.

Snapshots: Muzzin, Blais, Three Stars

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The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without Jake Muzzin for the next little while after the veteran defenseman suffered a broken bone in his last game. According to Kristen Shilton of TSN, Muzzin won’t play tonight for Toronto and will be wearing a full-face shield when he does eventually return. The Maple Leafs will also be without Zach Hyman and Joe Thornton this evening as both wingers are listed as day-to-day.

In Muzzin’s place, Travis Dermott will be elevated to the second pair, an interesting assignment given how little the young defenseman has actually played this season. Despite suiting up in 15 games, Dermott has averaged just over 11 minutes a night, seeing no powerplay or penalty kill time. With rumors swirling about the Maple Leafs’ apparent interest in acquiring another top-six winger, Dermott’s name has come up in trade speculation. The 24-year-old will be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this summer and has an opportunity now to really show what he is capable of.

  • The St. Louis Blues will have Sammy Blais available to them tonight after he was previously placed on the COVID Protocol list. Blues head coach Craig Berube confirmed that it was a false positive that led to Blais’ placement there and he will be eligible to return this evening. The 24-year-old forward is expected to play on the second line alongside Brayden Schenn and Mike Hoffman. That’s quite the step up for Blais, who has just ten goals and 23 points in his 91-game NHL career. Jaden Schwartz and Colton Parayko will not dress as they continue to deal with injury.
  • Hard to find a more dynamic trio than Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, and David Pastrnak. Those are your NHL Three Stars of the week, with Matthews taking the top spot following his seven-goal output. The Maple Leafs forward leads the entire league in goals with 18 through his first 18 games this season, six ahead of McDavid and Brock Boeser who are tied for second. Pastrnak meanwhile has nine in his first nine games after starting the year on injured reserve, including a hat trick in last night’s Lake Tahoe game.

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