Two sides of the same coin, one Leafs veteran has impressed, while the other has struggled
After a slow start to the season the Toronto Maple Leafs have been one of the best teams in the league; currently siting 2nd in the Atlantic Division with a 20-8-2 record. There have been many standouts for the Leafs this season. The core four have all performed well and the team has had many surprises deeper in the lineup. That being said the team has also had some players who have not performed up to expectations.
One of these players is, Jake Muzzin. The 32-year-old has been showing signs of decline this season as he and defense partner Justin Holl have failed to create the same magic that the team's shutdown pair had last season. Leaf Nation has been very hard on Justin Holl and rightfully so based on his play this season. That being said the same criticisms should be there for Jake Muzzin, who is certainly capable of playing at a higher level.
Muzzin makes 5.625 million dollars until 2024. Unfortunately, that deal has begun to look like one that the Leafs should at least consider offloading if they doubts that his current struggles are only temporary.
The Muzzin and Holl pairing has looked bad all season for the Leafs but Jake Muzzin has not looked like the Jake Muzzin fans have been used to seeing throughout his time in Toronto - and that is concerning.
Meanwhile many players have impressed this season for the Leafs. When the team got off to a slow start many prominent media personalities in Toronto were talking about captain John Tavares in a manner not all that dissimilar to the way they're currently talking about Jake Muzzin. However, when the Leafs got hot, so too did Tavares.
In 29 games this year, Tavares has 13 goals, 19, assists, for 32 points, all while showing great chemistry with William Nylander and Alexander Kerfoot. Tavares has been strong on the Leafs powerplay and has returned to form as one of the best net front players in hockey.
The 31-year-old has rebounded in a big way after suffering a gruesome injury in the playoffs last season against the Montreal Canadiens. This makes it even more impressive that he is playing some of the his best hockey of his career this season in Toronto. Let's just hope he can continue to impress following the pause due to COVID-19.
