Jake Muzzin Placed On Long-Term Injured Reserve

After a series of complicated roster moves earlier in the day, the Toronto Maple Leafs have now placed defenseman Jake Muzzin on long-term injured reserve.

The team made a series of recalls and re-assignments today to get as close to the salary cap as possible, including briefly sending Rasmus Sandin back to the AHL and recalling defensemen Brennan Menell and Kristians Rubins. This permits them to get as much LTIR relief from Muzzin’s $5.625MM cap hit as possible.

Muzzin will be out for at least 10 games and 24 days. But after suffering his second concussion in a short timeframe, Toronto is expected to be cautious with his return.

If Muzzin is healthy before the end of the regular season, Toronto would need to be cap-compliant in order to return him to the active roster. But if Muzzin won’t return until the beginning of the postseason or sometime during it, the Maple Leafs have roughly an additional $5.6MM to throw around at the trade deadline and have those players for the playoffs.

In the meantime, look for Sandin and Timothy Liljegren to see an increased role.