Toronto Maple Leafs: Ranking Kyle Dubas Top 5 Moves as Leafs GM
No. 2: The Jake Muzzin Trade
In the trade that acquired the most important member of the Toronto Maple Leafs blueline, Kyle Dubas made his first blockbuster trade as Leas GM. Acquired on January 28th, 2019, Jake Muzzin has been every bit as advertised in his year and a half with the organization.
Playing on a supremely awful Los Angeles Kings team to start the 2018-19 season, Muzzin was still able to register a plus-10 rating, a significant feat proving his defensive impact night in and night out.
On the ice, the Woodstock, Ontario native was the perfect fit for Toronto. Leading all Leafs defensemen in hits, blocked shots, and takeaways since his arrival, and at 6′ 3″, 217 lbs, Muzzin became the physical presence on the backend Toronto severely lacked.
Furthermore, Muzzin also leads the team in short-handed ice time, playing the most minutes on the penalty kill of any Leafs defensemen. It is quite amazing that even though Muzzin has been the Leafs best defensive defensemen the past season and a half, he is also second in points among all Leafs d-men.
Off the ice, Muzzin provides just the same contributions to the Leafs dressing room as he does with his play. A former Stanley Cup winner and a veteran of almost 600 career regular-season games, with an additional 59 postseason games, Jake Muzzin is the unofficial fourth assistant captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The most significant moment where Muzzin’s leadership really showed is when the Leafs were faced with a home-and-home against the Penguins in mid-February. Toronto was destroyed by Pittsburgh in the first game with Muzzin saying this following the game:
"“Everyone’s got to take a look in the mirror. We got to be better. That’s unacceptable. We got to find the urgency, the passion, the love of the game, the love to compete for each other. All that needs to come. I don’t know what it’s not there …”."
Muzzin came out ready to back up his words in game 2. With a goal (the game-winner) and two assists, coupled with a plus-3 rating and four blocked shots, Muzzin showed the rest of the Leafs roster what it takes to win in this league.
It is hard to describe just how important Muzzin has been to this team over the past two seasons. Leafs management recognized this by not letting the defensemen reach the open market this offseason, re-upping Muzz for another four seasons. In such a short time Muzzin has proved to be such an important piece to this Leafs roster and thankfully we have another four years of it.