Leafs’ Jake McCabe leaves game against Canadiens with upper-body injury

A bad night for the Toronto Maple Leafs has been made even worse.

When the third period between the Leafs and Montreal Canadiens began on Saturday night, Toronto announced that defenseman Jake McCabe wouldn’t return due to an upper-body injury.

McCabe suffered the ailment in the second period. When pursuing Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov, the 32-year-old was struck by the puck in the face. He then left the ice and didn’t return for the remainder of the period.

The Leafs were getting manhandled by their Canadian rivals, 4-1, when McCabe was pronounced out. The veteran rearguard left the contest with a plus/minus of -1, taking a penalty during the play that led to him getting injured. He posted two shots on goal, blocking two others and delivering a hit in 12:37 of ice time.

McCabe has been pretty healthy this season, playing in each of Toronto’s first 22 games of the 2025-26 season. The Eau Claire, Wis. native had scored three goals and seven assists for 10 points, including scoring in the team’s overtime win over the St. Louis Blues this past Tuesday.

Injuries hindered McCabe throughout the 2024-25 season, as he appeared in just 66 games, with an upper-body injury late in the year jeopardizing his status for the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He was able to return to action, playing in each of the Leafs’ 13 games before the team was eliminated by the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the second round.

McCabe has arguably been one of, if not the, best defender in the Leafs’ lineup over the past couple of seasons. His offensive production has been steady, along with being responsible in his own zone. Losing McCabe for an extended period of time could really hurt a Leafs team that is already without Anthony Stolarz and Auston Matthews, among others.