The Maple Leafs will need to act fast to avoid making a huge mistake

The summer of 2025 is going to be a very important one for the Maple Leafs with the likes of McCabe, Marner, Tavares, Matthew Knies, and Pontus Holmberg all needing new contracts. The likelihood of the Leafs being able to keep all 5 players is difficult, let alone being able to hold onto 3 of them. Marner is going to want Auston Matthews-type money, Tavares isn't going to come cheap either, and Knies is expected to get an extremely healthy raise post-ELC.

One name that could get lost in the shuffle is defenseman Jake McCabe but he might be one of the more important upcoming UFAs to extend for the foreseeable future. Brad Treliving and company made it abundantly clear that bolstering their back-end was of the utmost concern and importance this year considering they extended Timothy Liljegren and signed Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and potentially Jani Hakanpaa. It would be shocking if they diverted their stance 12-months from now, which is all the more reason to find a way to keep McCabe.

The soon-to-be 31-year-old was acquired ahead of the trade deadline in 2023 from the Chicago Blackhawks - alongside Sam Lafferty and multiple late round picks - in exchange for a conditional 2025 first round pick, a 2026 second round pick, and 2 prospects. Chicago also retained 50% of McCabe's salary, which meant he joined the Leafs at a 2-million cap hit.

In parts of 2 seasons with his new club, McCabe has 9 goals and 33 points in 94 games played, is a plus-32, has averaged 20:23 TOI, and has finished 260 hits and blocked 165 shots during the regular season. In the playoffs, he has 1 goal and 3 points, is a minus-7, and has averaged 21:09 TOI with 28 blocked shots and 69 hits. He's been a steady force within the top-4 and had to shoulder the brunt of the opposition's best over the last 2 years. His load should be lessened every so slightly with the acquisition of Tanev but that will bode well for his prospects of a successful contract-year in 2024-25.

The defensive-defenseman will be a hot commodity should he opt for free agency but it's not out of the realm of possibilities that he gets a suitable extension with the Maple Leafs. Evolving Hockey has projected him to receive a cap hit of 4.06 million on a 3-year pact, 4.62 million on a 4-year pact, 5.33 million on a 5-year pact, and 5 million on a 6-year pact. Considering his age, his role, and the style of play, the Leafs should look towards extending him to a maximum of 4 years if it comes to an AAV around 4.6 million.

A 4-year deal would see him through 2029, which also aligns perfectly with the expiration of Ekman-Larsson (2028) and Tanev and Rielly (2030). A 3-year deal would be better for the club but the player will want to squeeze out as much term as possible. He would be nearing 36-years-of-age by the end of a 4-year deal, which would still give him an opportunity to chase one final contract, while allowing the Leafs to get the best of his remaining years with their Stanley Cup window wide open at the moment.

A top-4 of Rielly, Tanev, McCabe, and Ekman-Larsson could work wonders for the Leafs for the foreseeable future but only time will tell if they can get McCabe under contract with potential bigger fish to fry in the summer of 2025.

Source for Jake McCabe's statistics: Hockey-Reference
Jake McCabe