Kyle Dubas shares another crucial update on Jake Muzzin

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Joshua Deeds
February 9, 2023 (9:31 PM)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have been missing veteran defenseman Jake Muzzin and while he is out on the long-term injured reserve, the Leafs have been feeling the pain of his presence on the ice.

There has been an update on his injury status and Kyle Dubas offered an explanation of where Muzzin is at right now.

"We'll have an update, internally just for the remainder of the season in terms of what his condition is going to be as to whether he can get back at it or it's not possible."

Muzzin has been out since October 17th, and Dubas told media that they will have an update in two-weeks on the defenseman's condition. The benefit of him being out is the salary cap flexibility. Muzzin's availability will be known internally as soon as his condition is known and whether returning is a possibility.

With Muzzin carrying a $5.62 Million cap hit, the Maple Leafs feel a definite loss of his presence on the ice, as he only played 4 games this season. In the meantime, the Leafs have had to rely upon call-ups from the Toronto Marlies and are in the market for a defenseman to fill that positional hole in the meantime.

Dubas will want to improve the on-ice product by adding another quality defenseman, and with Nikko Mikkola off the market, affordable and available defense aren't difficult to find, with Vladislav Gavrikov and Jakob Chychrun being available.

If Dubas can make the cap work and if he needs to make a trade in the meantime, should Muzzin prepare for the worst, I don't think Dubas would have an issue in the long-run.