The Daily Faceoff Show: Why won’t the Maple Leafs place Jake Muzzin on LTIR?

The 2022 NHL trade deadline is less than two weeks out, cap space is tight around the league, and contending teams will do whatever they can to make room on the payroll for upgrades.

At least, that’s what they should be doing. During the Garbage Time segment of Wednesday’s Daily Faceoff Show, Frank Seravalli wondered why the Leafs aren’t making LTIR lemonade out of lemons with defenseman Jake Muzzin’s injury.

Frank Seravalli: My big question is, are the Toronto Maple Leafs making a mistake with Jake Muzzin and his rehab? You saw the cameras capture Muzzin skating by himself at the Maple Leafs practice facility on Tuesday, and it seems like the return or prognosis – it’s unclear with head injuries – is probably about a month from now. That means a couple weeks after the trade deadline with about three weeks of buffer time or playing time before the end of the regular season. But if that’s the case, then the Toronto Maple Leafs have to account for Muzzin on their salary cap and can’t put him on LTIR to really make a significant splash at the NHL’s trade deadline.

We’ve talked about the issues the Maple Leafs have not just in goal but in search of a second-pair defenseman, not just to help Muzzin or, because he’s played so hesitant with back to back concussions, to replace Muzzin if he’s injured. They also have a hole up front. They need help on the wing. That’ a lot of needs to address really without any salary cap space.

I appreciate the Leafs’ need to play this by the book. I appreciate their interest in Jake Muzzin and his health and wanting to get him back healthy playing before the Stanley Cup playoffs. But for me: everyone is doing it. The Vegas Golden Knights are doing it with Mark Stone and his injury. The Tampa Bay Lightning did it with Nikita Kucherov. Park Jake Muzzin on the bench. Park him off your salary cap on LTIR. Make the significant upgrades your team needs. Give them the best chance possible when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs to improve this roster. Use his $5.6 million to go out and acquire the help you need at the deadline. And then bring back the guy that has playoff experience, the Stanley Cup winner. Do you think he really needs those two or three weeks before the deadline to get right, or can he just jump back in for the playoffs? It’s not like he hasn’t played all season long.

Look, I get that this is a sticky situation. I’m just wondering if they’re making the wrong choice in playing this by the book. 

Tyler Yaremchuk: And especially with head injuries as well and a guy who’s had a couple of them. It would be maybe greasy to park him on LTIR even if he is cleared to return, but also, if there ever was a situation where you could keep a guy out longer than he needs to be, a head injury is exactly when you do that. So that’s a tremendous point by you.

Frank Seravalli: Not only that, but what happens if he’s planning to come back, let’s say a month from now, April 10, and then gets to that point and says, “I’m just not ready,” and ultimately ends up being out until the playoffs because head injuries are so unpredictable? Then you’ve shot yourself in the foot. You didn’t have the opportunity to spend that money, to use that cap space to improve your team.

This is a tough situation all the way around. I feel for the Leafs and the spot they’re in. At the moment, they’re planning on not having that money, but that means they’re not really going to be able to improve without shipping someone out.