Rumored contract extension will not age well for the Toronto Maple Leafs

Heading into the final year of his current contract, questions have surrounded the status of Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe. The left-handed blueliner was acquired in a trade from the Chicago Blackhawks in February of 2023.

Since then, McCabe has provided good value for the Toronto Maple Leafs on a contract with a $2 million average-annual-value in a mostly top-four role. Consistently logging around twenty minutes per night of ice-time and a physical element would most certainly result in a significant raise on his next deal.

Early in training camp, McCabe stated his desire to remain in Toronto. Now, it appears, the feeling is mutual. On Wednesday, Nick Kypreos of "Real Kyper & Bourne", revealed that a McCabe extension could be coming soon.

While the term of the deal has not been confirmed, Kypreos shared that it's possible the rugged defenseman could land a contract of six years and $30 million dollars ($5 million AAV). That's a big raise for McCabe, but it's only part of the problem with the potential agreement.

Rumored contract extension will not age well for the Toronto Maple Leafs

An AAV of $5 million for McCabe is what the current NHL market dictates for a defenseman of his caliber. Two-way defensemen warrant a higher salary, but McCabe is not that. He brings physical and defensive play but is limited with his puck-handling and contributes little offensively.

The Leafs only need to look elsewhere in their dressing room to find a comparable. Their biggest offseason acquisition was free-agent defenseman Chris Tanev. The Maple Leafs will pay him $4.5 annually for the next six years to make life difficult for the opposition in the defensive zone.

Former Leafs and lesser players such as Joel Edmundson, Ilya Lyubushkin, and Luke Schenn received deals with a $3 million AAV. The NHL's salary cap should continue to increase, so McCabe's cap-hit percentage would decrease with each passing year.

Paying McCabe $5 million per season is not the problem; giving him a six year commitment is. A six-year term for McCabe means the Leafs would have four of their core defensemen locked into contracts for a minimum of the next four seasons.

The biggest concern is the age of the core defenders. Tanev (34), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (33), Morgan Rielly (30), and McCabe (30) are all in the midst of years where a decline in performance or injuries become an issue. This is not one of the NHL's best blue-lines this year, and it's only going to get worse.

It's a huge gamble by the organization. The Leafs have potentially restricted themselves to a narrow window of 2-3 years of prime Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and perhaps Mitch Marner, to win a title with an average, aging defense.

A long-term extension to McCabe limits the Maple Leafs future flexibilty as well. Teams are unlikely to help them out by taking on a contract of over-thirty defenseman in a trade. It also blocks the Leafs defense prospects such as Topi Niemela, Cade Webber, and Ben Danford (a couple years from now) from spots in the lineup.

Should the Toronto Maple Leafs follow through with another long-term deal for an older, and soon-to-be declining defenseman, they are bound to regret their decision.