Maple Leafs Not Planning to Hold Muzzin Out Until NHL Playoffs

There was speculation the Toronto Maple Leafs might be happy enough to keep defenseman Jake Muzzin out of the lineup until the playoffs begin. Doing so would mean getting $5.625 million in additional cap space to spend before the deadline, even if it wasn’t clear he was actually that injured. News now is that the Maple Leafs aren’t going to press their luck with the NHL.

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Elliotte Friedman noted during Saturday’s intermission of Sportsnet’s NHL broadcast that the Leafs will not hold out Muzzin until the playoffs if he is healthy enough to get back sooner. It doesn’t mean he won’t be out that long, only that the team isn’t heading into the trade deadline as though they have $7 million in LTIR cap space to spend. He notes that GM Kyle Dubas is seeing it like they have $2 million available.

With that $2 million, the Leafs do plan to add. Friedman believes they’re likely to address their defence and that means getting someone who isn’t terribly expensive or moving another player in exchange for the piece they think they need.

A Big Development For Toronto

If the Maple Leafs are approaching this year’s deadline as though Muzzin isn’t part of the equation and his cap hit won’t play a role, the organization isn’t likely to be a big player over the next few weeks. Instead, trades involving roster players moving around or a depth pick-up is about the most Toronto will do. That should take them out of a number of deadline storylines that many insiders had the franchise connected to.

Then again, if there’s one team that seems to be able to do a lot with very little, it’s the Maple Leafs.

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