Maple Leafs May Have Found Their Replacement For Jake Muzzin

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Aaron Itovitch
February 22, 2023 (5:57 PM)

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The Maple Leafs officially lost Jake Muzzin for the rest of the season today.

With his injury woes over the past two years, it isn't a stretch to believe this could be the end of his career.

With that in mind, the Leafs need to find a replacement for him. While they're getting by just fine with their group right now, they need to improve their blueline if they want to guarantee playoff success.

Kyle Dubas knows he has limited assets to work with, which effectively takes Jakob Chychrun off the table. The team does need term however, since Muzzin is likely out for the rest of his contract.

Maple Leafs Have Found Their Replacement

Defensemen are a commodity, especially around deadline time. With players like Vladislav Gavrikov fetching a first rounder +, it will be even more expensive to get a player with term.

This means management will have to get creative, and it appears they've set their sights on 32-year old Nashville Predators blueliner Mattias Ekholm.

One player getting a good amount of attention over the past week is Mattias Ekholm, 32, who has another three years on his deal after this one at a $6.25 million average annual value. He's still a bona-fide top-four defenseman, which is why some teams are intrigued.

But his age, 33 in May, is a concern given the term left on the deal. The asking price would be high � perhaps as much as two first-round picks.

Not sure there's a team out there willing to pay that. But at the very least, the Preds are talking to teams about him.

I think the Maple Leafs, for example, have looked at him, but I don't easily see how Toronto can meet the asking price, and there's the issue of his contract.

- Pierre LeBrun

Ekholm's term, salary, and age will make him much cheaper to acquire than similar players, which could be a perfect fit for Toronto. He still won't come cheap, but he'll definitely be a step below Chychrun.

The Maple Leafs have a very short window of pure contention while Matthews and Nylander are still on their current deals.

Going after a guy like Mattias Ekholm is risky, but you can't win a cup without taking risks.

The only question is, will Kyle Dubas pull the trigger?

Source Maple Leafs Daily:
The Leafs have reportedly checked in on a potential Jake Muzzin replacement with a significant amount of term remaining on his deal