Good news and bad news with the latest Jake Muzzin update
Some good news on the Jake Muzzin front today as Nick Kypreos reported that he has been released from hospital and will be travelling back to Toronto today. The bad news is that he is now out indefinitely.
Muzzin left last night's game after a scary collision with Chris Wideman saw him take a brutal impact to his head. He was taken to hospital in Montreal and did not travel to Columbus with the team. To add insult to injury, the Leafs lost 5-2 to the last place Habs.
With Muzzin sidelined for who knows how long, the Leafs are left with a huge hole on the left side. Youngster Rasmus Sandin and the inconsistent Travis Dermott are sufficient enough to help the Leafs limp through the remainder of the regular season, but if Muzzin is out long term, expect Dubas to make a move to shore up the blue line before the trade deadline passes.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman stated on Tuesday on The Jeff Marek Show that he would not be the least bit surprised if Leafs GM Kyle Dubas went out and landed another defender who could slot in for Muzzin. He used the words "creative" and "aggressive" in reference to Dubas' pursuit of a blueliner should Muzzin miss significant time.
The Leafs are rumoured to have kicked tires on Arizona's Jakob Chychrun (along with probably 30 other teams) and Seattle's Mark Giordano, the former being a long-term asset and the latter being a pure rental. There are several other possible targets that could make some sense, such as Anaheim's Hampus Lindholm - but who knows whether or not the Ducks would move the pending UFA while they're in the playoff hunt.
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