Jake Muzzin takes on exciting new role with the Toronto Maple Leafs

Retired defenseman turned pro scout Jake Muzzin was spotted on the ice today in what looks to be a player development role with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

During Thursday's Maple Leafs Development Camp session, Muzzin was spotted working the defensemen. Donning a Maple Leafs track suit, a baseball cap, and a whistle, Muzzin was seen instructing the future of Toronto's back-end.

Muzzin enjoyed a successful NHL career that spanned parts of 12 seasons with the Leafs and, prior to that, the Los Angeles Kings, where he played in 683 games, tallied 294 points, and most importantly he helped the Kings win the Stanley Cup in 2014.

He joined the Maple Leafs ahead of the trade deadline in 2019 when he was traded from Los Angeles in exchange for forward Carl Grundstrom, defenseman Sean Durzi, and a 2019 first round pick. Muzzin was coming off of scoring 40+ points in 3 of his past 4 seasons, had averaged over 22 minutes of ice-time per game, and had delivered 715 hits and 488 blocked shots during that stretch.

It was more of the same in Toronto as he tallied 81 points in 187 games, averaged 21:11 TOI, and had collected 316 blocked shots and 387 hits. Unfortunately, his time in the NHL was cut short by injuries.

His 2021-22 season was cut short due to suffering 2 concussions in a span of a month, but he did return to play for the Leafs in the post-season. Unfortunately, the injuries piled up as he appeared in just 4 games during the 2022-23 season after injuring his spine, which ultimately forced him out for the rest of the season and beyond. He officially retired ahead of the 2023-24 campaign and was appointed as a pro scout by the organization shortly afterwards.

Source for Jake Muzzin's statistics: Hockey-ReferenceJake Muzzin

Source for Jake Muzzin's Pro Scout appointment: Elite ProspectsJake Muzzin

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