If the Toronto Maple Leafs want to make a serious run at the Stanley Cup, players with a proven track record are vital.
Toronto addressed the need on Monday, as the team acquired defenseman Jake Muzzin from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forward Carl Grundstrom, the rights to unsigned draft choice Sean Durzi and a first-round pick in the 2019 draft.
.@SportChek Player Alert: The @MapleLeafs have acquired defenceman Jake Muzzin from Los Angeles in exchange for forward Carl Grundstrom, the rights to Sean Durzi and Toronto’s first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/3DYt3w0dc1
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 29, 2019
The 29-year-old Muzzin is a wily veteran with proven playoff experience, winning a Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2014. Muzzin joins Ron Hainsey, who captured a championship with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016, as the only player on the Maple Leafs' roster who has experience winning a Cup.
"In acquiring a player in Jake, a very good defenseman for a long time, he has experience of seeing a team mature and wanting to contend to (actually being a contender)," Maple Leafs' general manager Kyle Dubas said in a conference call with reporters. "He has the ability to play at the top end of our defense in all situations, he's proven he can move the puck against high-quality competition...He's a great fit for our locker room."
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For the Maple Leafs, a less-than-stellar defensive unit has been a problem in recent seasons. It led to their quick first-round exit last season at the hands of the Boston Bruins, who scored 28 goals in a seven-game series. Defensive woes have been a problem this season -- something that needed to be addressed.
The Muzzin acquisition is the first step toward improvement and his versatility should give head coach Mike Babcock more options to explore.
"I’ve played a little bit of the right and more so of my career on the left," Muzzin said. "I’d be fine either way I think. There’s good enough (pieces) back there where we can figure something out.”
Jake Muzzin's biggest hits of the season 👀 pic.twitter.com/7P52h7EsCm
— Flintor (@TheFlintor) January 29, 2019
With nearly a month to go before the Feb. 25 trade deadline, the Maple Leafs pounced at the opportunity to acquire the veteran. For starters, since postseason teams can sometimes overpay for players closer to the deadline, the Maple Leafs avoided that potential headache. Additionally, it gives Muzzin a few extra weeks to get acclimated to Babcock's system and develop a rapport with linemates.
"When we're talking about trades of this nature, especially coming back from the break, it gives Jake some time to be with his family," Dubas said of the Woodstock, Ont. native. "... Any time we can give a player some time to adapt (is important), it gives Jake some time to assimilate to our program."
Toronto (62 points) could use all the time possible with the Montreal Canadiens (61 points) and Bruins (59 points) nipping at their heels in the Atlantic Division.
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Muzzin has notched four goals and 17 assists in 50 games this season. He has a cap hit of $4 million both this season and next before becoming a free agent in July of 2020. Since Muzzin is not a pure rental, he will have time to not only improve a position of weakness for the Maple Leafs but solidify a winning culture.
"Our preference was to acquire players with term on their deals," Dubas said. "Our preference was to add players that were going to be here (for a while), not just a few months....(We're) happy he'll be here for at least a year-and-a-half."
Fans can expect to see Muzzin line up on the blue line for his debut in a Maple Leafs' sweater on Friday night, as the team travels to Detroit to take on the Red Wings.