This Jake Muzzin era should be remembered fondly

The Maple Leafs announced that Jake Muzzin will remain out for the remainder of the 2022-23 season. Muzzin's performances have swung from stellar to inconsistent but while Toronto fans will miss their defenceman in the playoffs, they should remember his on-ice contributions,from riling up Matthew Tkachuk to scoring twice against Montreal in Game 7.

Video Transcript

Jake Muzzin's time with the Leafs seems to be done, at least as far as this season goes. The team announced that he's out for the rest of the season, and the playoffs. And I know the relationship between Muzzin and Leafs fans has been a little shaky. I mean, when he first got here, he was loved, and then that relationship kind of started to tarnish as his game started to deteriorate a little bit.

I think I'm trying to focus on the positives because, like, Jake Muzzin, the person, is an awesome dude. And, again, the fact that he's still around the team and the players want him there, I mean, Mitch Marner had an awesome quote about him about how he means-- what he means to the team. I want to focus on the good things. I want to focus on that hilarious time where he made Matthew Tkachuk lose his mind because he flipped the puck at him at the end of a Calgary game.

I want to focus on the time where he made Josh Anderson fall just from using the force in those Montreal games. I want to focus on the time where for a long stretch, he was the only Leafs defenceman that was throwing like legitimate hits, and then the Scotiabank Arena would go nuts about it, or even that game despite the ending, where he scored two goals in a playoff game.

It's so unfortunate because Jake Muzzin like at his peak, was everything the Leafs needed. He can move the puck well. He can defend well. He had that snarl. He had that grit. And it's just-- it's so unfortunate what an injury can do not only to a player like Muzzin, but to all players.

So this is the end of this season, but, you know, who knows what happens next year. And I guess on the positive aspect of it, if it does continue, then that's more cap space, but Jake Muzzin, it's been a great run, and he was a great Leaf, and a part of me is really going to miss him in the lineup.