#5. Jake McCabe
Stats with the Leafs:
Regular Season:
Games Played: 21
Goals: 1
Assists: 4
Hits: 41
Playoffs:
Games Played: 11
Goals: 0
Assists: 2
Hits: 47
xGF: 47.88%
Contract Status:
2 more years at $2M per season
Overall Thoughts:
Jake McCabe was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs along with Sam Lafferty and with his salary half retained he comes in at a reasonable $2M per season.
McCabe despite being in the league for some time now found himself playing his first playoff games. I found that McCabe made some mistakes that an experienced playoff defender wouldn’t typically make.
Overall McCabe is better than Holl, who counted for $2M against the cap. McCabe should prove to be a valuable player especially at his cap hit for the Leafs next season and with one year of playoff experience I’m sure he will look even better next playoffs.
McCabe overall had a decent season with the Leafs. It’s worth noting that McCabe was paired with Brodie, who was overused heading into the playoffs leading to him not looking like his normal self.
This in effect unfortunately effected McCabe’s game and for that reason McCabe’s grade shouldn’t be as low as his xGF%. Expect McCabe to be a physical two-way defender for the Leafs this upcoming season.