Toronto Maple Leafs: Jake Muzzin Poised to Have Huge Season

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 13 games into the 2019-20 season and things aren’t going so smoothly.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a tough recent stretch of games, with a difficult schedule and injuries weighing the team down. They are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games and have been demoted to the second wild card spot in the East.

The good news, however, is that it’s only been 13 games and there is time to improve.

Despite the recent slide, there have been a few bright spots on this team. One bright spot in particular is Jake Muzzin’s strong play. He has been playing exceptionally well as of late and there hasn’t been a better time for him to step up. Showing his maturity as the oldest blue-liner on the roster, Muzzin looks poised to have a big season this season.

Offensive Production

The first sign of brightness for Jake Muzzin has obviously been his offensive production. In his last five games, he has scored five points, which includes two goals in his last two games. Muzzin has been there when the Leafs have been struggling offensively as of late. Despite not being an offensive-first defenceman, he has been showing up in this way.

For the most part, Muzzin has been pretty solid offensively over the course of his career. Last season, he put up 37 points in 80 games split between the Los Angeles Kings and the Leafs.

His career high was 42 points in the 2017-18 season. This season, he has already put up 9 points in 13 games, putting him on pace for about 56 points. Although I don’t think he’ll keep this pace up all season, it’s crazy to see how much he’s stepped up.

Making Up for Barrie

While Muzzin has been playing surprisingly well offensively, his defensive partner Tyson Barrie hasn’t been having the greatest start. Barrie, the offensive defenceman who scored a career-high 59 points last season with the Colorado Avalanche, has been struggling on both ends of the ice, only scoring 4 assists so far this season.

Muzzin, however, has decided to step up on his behalf and make up for that much needed offence. Whether or not Barrie gets going sooner or later, Muzzin breaking out in his own right is more than needed. Hopefully Barrie will start meshing with Muzzin and the two will be a true force to reckon with. Either way, Muzzin’s step forward is huge right now.

Earning His Contract

This may or may not be seen as a positive for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but either way it may be contributing to Muzzin’s success. Heading into a contract season, I think Muzzin realizes he really wants to earn those extra dollars.

Currently, he’s finishing off a bargain of a five-year deal which saw him earn an AAV of just $4 million. That’s a great value for the Leafs, but something Muzzin hopes to raise.

Muzzin might be using that as motivation for this season. If he keeps this up, he’s in for a pay raise. Whether or not the Leafs decide they want to be the ones to give him that pay raise is another story, but this motivation is bound to help push Muzzin to play his best this season.

We’ll see how Muzzin progresses through the season, but as of now, he has been making a very positive impact on a team that needs to step their game up as a whole.