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Jake McCabe

Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Jake McCabe, Sam Lafferty

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are loading up. After their big move earlier this month, they’ve pulled off another significant trade, acquiring Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty from the Chicago Blackhawks. In return, the Maple Leafs will send a top-ten protected 2025 first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick, Joey Anderson, and prospect Pavel Gogolev.

Chicago is retaining 50% of McCabe’s contract, and sending two conditional fifth-round selections to Toronto. If the 2025 first-round selection is in the top ten, Chicago will get Toronto’s 2026 first-round pick instead. CapFriendly reports that the 2024 fifth-round pick that is going to Toronto will be the lowest pick in that round the Blackhawks own at the time of the draft.

The biggest part of this deal for Toronto is the salary retention, as McCabe is not a typical rental. With two more years on his contract, the Maple Leafs will get a discounted defenseman for several playoff runs. His deal carries a cap hit of $4MM, meaning McCabe will cost Toronto just $2MM per season through 2024-25, the same amount as Justin Holl, who is currently scheduled for unrestricted free agency this summer.

McCabe, 29, has been rather productive for the Blackhawks this season, registering 20 points in 55 games—a pace that has him on track to blow past his previous career-high of 22 points. It’s not his offensive ability the Maple Leafs were targeting, though. McCabe instantly becomes the team’s most physical defender, and should help the penalty kill with his long reach, strength in front of the net, and willingness to block shots.

Lafferty is not just a throw-in, either. The 27-year-old forward is having a career year with Chicago, scoring ten goals and 21 points in 51 games. He too, is a physical upgrade for the Maple Leafs, giving them a pretty significant depth chart for the bottom six. With Lafferty and Noel Acciari now in place, the team has added two right-handed faceoff options that can be used on the penalty kill and in the defensive zone to go with their stable of left-shot centers.

It’s a pretty impressive haul for Toronto over the last few weeks, especially when considering they didn’t give up a single roster player. But there is real risk in moving so many draft picks when your group has zero playoff success to show for it to this point. Even McCabe, who seems like he would excel in the postseason, has never actually played in a playoff game nearly a decade into his NHL career.

If the Maple Leafs are bounced again, some painful years could be ahead. But for now, general manager Kyle Dubas is willing to put it on the line and give this group the best chance possible.

One thing to note is that with the addition of McCabe and Lafferty, the Maple Leafs no longer have the cap space to activate goaltender Matt Murray from long-term injured reserve. That was expected to happen in the next few days, meaning either another player will be shipped out, or some other transaction will be made to clear cap.

Latest On Patrick Kane

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The Patrick Kane trade saga may be nearing its end, according to NHL insider Chris Johnston. In a tweet Friday afternoon, Johnston reported that a resolution to Kane’s situation is expected “in the next 24 hours or so,” well before the trade deadline on March 3.

As of now, Kane has reportedly not waived his no-movement clause to facilitate a deal, per Johnston.

Kane, who has spent his entire 16-year career with the Chicago Blackhawks, has been the subject of trade rumors in recent weeks as the lottery-bound team continues to rebuild. Yesterday, rumors re-emerged about the possibility of Kane ending up with the New York Rangers, even after the team already bolstered their top-six with the addition of Vladimir Tarasenko. Kane, 34, has recorded seven goals and 10 points in his last five games, quieting many doubts about his scoring ability in spite of a bad hip.

However, Kane’s no-movement clause gives him the power to control his destiny, and it’s still entirely possible all the speculation is for not.

Adding to the rumor mill today, NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis reported that Kane was not practicing with the team, taking a maintenance day. Such a vague term is bound to increase speculation about whether Kane is being held out for trade-related reasons, health reasons related to his publicized hip issues, or neither.

Another Blackhawks trade target, defenseman Jake McCabe, also did not practice with a non-COVID illness.

Latest On Jake McCabe

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The Chicago Blackhawks acquired a defenseman today via the Nikita Zaitsev trade, and it seems they could soon match that deal by sending a blueliner out. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that trade talks surrounding Blackhawks blueliner Jake McCabe have “heated up” and that it’s a “when not if he’s moved” scenario. We recently covered how multiple contenders have expressed interest in the 29-year-old, and how the asking price is said to be as much as a first-round pick.

Aiding the Blackhawks’ likelihood of receiving a first-round pick for McCabe is his contract, as well as their apparent willingness to sacrifice short-term cap space to add draft picks. McCabe is under contract through 2024-25 at a $4MM cap hit, but the Blackhawks could cut that hit in half and offer McCabe at $2MM to teams, should they elect to retain the maximum portion of his salary.

Adding McCabe at $2MM against the cap for this season and two more is an extremely attractive prospect for many defense-needy teams.

He’d be able to play reliable top-four minutes at a bargain price, and in today’s environment where cap space is at an absolute premium, that sort of surplus value will likely be highly coveted.

One of the main reasons the Tampa Bay Lightning paid first-round picks for players such as Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman was because those players were under cheap contracts with some term attached. If one uses the additional value those players were assigned due to their contracts to guide the appraisal of McCabe’s trade value, it seems clear that a first-round pick at the minimum would be a reasonable ask for the player with some retention.

David Savard and Ben Chiarot both net their club a first-round pick (and more) via a trade, so when one considers how well McCabe has been playing despite difficult circumstances and the surplus value he would offer at a $2MM cap hit for another two years, paying a first-rounder should be a no-brainer for a few interested teams.

While McCabe’s offensive production doesn’t jump off the page, he’s improved his numbers compared to last season. He’s averaging nearly 20 minutes a night and is a contributor to the Blackhawks’ penalty kill. He’ll be able to handle a similar role on a contending team, and he should be a name to monitor for both Blackhawks fans and fans of teams rumored to be interested in acquiring a defenseman.

Pictures courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Trade Rumors: Boeser, McCabe, Smith

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Few fits between player and team in the NHL are more evident than Brock Boeser and the Minnesota Wild. As the Vancouver Canucks still look to remain active on the trade market and the Wild debate whether or not to make a deadline-day splash, the door to a union between Boeser and his home team remains open.

Boeser’s agent, Ben Hankinson, threw fuel on the rumor fire on a Wednesday edition of The Athletic Hockey Show. Hankinson said Vancouver had permitted him to contact Wild general manager Bill Guerin directly about making a trade work, and “they’re trying to move some things around, potentially,” to make the acquisition happen. The Wild are certainly a fringe playoff team, battling it out with teams like the Calgary Flames for wild card positions in the West, but there’s an obvious Kevin Fiala-sized hole in the team’s top six that Boeser could help fill. Salary considerations remain a concern, though, as Hankinson notes. Boeser’s $6.65MM cap hit through 2025 could be tough to swallow as the full effects of the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyouts kick in over the coming seasons.

  • Sportsnet senior columnist Mark Spector reports that Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe has listed the Edmonton Oilers on the latest no-trade list he’s submitted. McCabe is one of the top defense targets available at the deadline, save for Jakob Chychrun and Vladislav Gavrikov, and he has a seven-team no-trade list as part of his four-year, $16MM contract with Chicago. One of the better defensive blueliners in the league, McCabe’s value is increased by his cost certainty — he’s only in year two of his contract, meaning he’s set at a $4MM cap hit through 2025. The 29-year-old veteran of nearly 500 NHL games has two goals and 17 assists in 53 games with Chicago this year.
  • While the Carolina Hurricanes have been very publically linked to San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier, that may not be the only move they make before the March 3 deadline. With more cap space available than a standard contender, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes they’ve spoken to the Boston Bruins about winger Craig Smith. Smith’s offensive numbers have taken a nosedive this season, recording just 10 points in 42 games in the final year of a contract carrying a $3.1MM cap hit. With Boston looking to offload salary to make other deadline moves, Smith could provide an added veteran presence in a Carolina bottom-six. Boston would likely compensate them for taking the contract off their hands. Carolina is a rare contender with a favorable salary cap situation, as they still have over $10MM in potential deadline cap space.

Latest On Jake McCabe

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Defensive defensemen with a top-four pedigree are always a hot commodity around the trade deadline. That hasn’t changed this year, as names like Columbus’ Vladislav Gavrikov expect to generate significant returns as March 3 approaches.

Another name in that conversation is Chicago Blackhawks defender Jake McCabe. Last month, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported that McCabe was drawing interest from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Today, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic added to McCabe’s interest, noting that “multiple contenders” are interested and Chicago’s asking price revolves around a first-round pick, especially if they’re asked to retain salary.

Also driving McCabe’s value is his contract. He’s cost-controlled and signed for two more seasons at a cap hit of $4MM. Based on recent quotes from Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas, that type of player is one for whom they’d be willing to part with a valuable asset. Dubas said earlier in the week that he’s hesitant to part with a first-round pick or a top prospect for a player on an expiring contract.

However, Toronto already has a group of six quality defensemen, and it’s unclear how McCabe would fit into the team’s roster. While Justin Holl is a pending unrestricted free agent, the team signed Conor Timmins to a contract extension earlier this week and has six NHL defensemen locked in for next season.

It shouldn’t diminish McCabe’s value, though. A first-round pick may be a steep asking price, but it could be worth it for a team on the precipice of winning a Stanley Cup. McCabe has continued to post strong advanced defensive metrics this season, even on a hapless Blackhawks team. He’s not a complete offensive liability either and has years of experience playing a top-four role.

McCabe has 15 points in 47 games this season, averaging 19:25 per game.

Maple Leafs Have Shown Interest In Jake McCabe

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With veteran defenseman Jake Muzzin out indefinitely and with it not appearing as if he will be back anytime soon, there has been an expectation that the Maple Leafs will look outside the organization to try to shore up their back end.  It appears one of the options they’re interested in is Blackhawks blueliner Jake McCabe, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (video link).

The 29-year-old is in his second season with Chicago after spending his first eight NHL seasons with Buffalo.  While McCabe isn’t known for his point production (the 22 he had last season stands as his career-high), he has been a quality defensive defender that can block shots and play with a physical edge which are some of the elements that Muzzin was bringing to the table for Toronto prior to his cervical spine injury.

McCabe has two seasons left on his contract after this one that carries a $4MM AAV.  On the surface, it would be difficult to see McCabe fitting into Toronto’s salary structure but there are a couple of ways it could potentially work.  The first would be convincing Chicago to retain part of the contract to help make the money work; teams can retain up to 50% in a trade.  However, getting them to hold back that much would undoubtedly make the acquisition cost considerably higher, especially with the term left on the deal.

The other option is one that they’ll have to wait on for a while.  Muzzin is expected to be re-evaluated at some point next month and if they get word that the veteran won’t be back at all this season, Toronto could then fit McCabe’s full AAV into their LTIR pool which includes Muzzin’s $5.625MM AAV.  There would still be some questions about making the money work beyond 2022-23, however, barring some sort of indication that Muzzin’s injury is going to continue to linger.

Worth noting is that McCabe also has a seven-team no-trade clause.  While Seravalli notes that the majority of those no-trade teams are Canadian franchises, the Maple Leafs appear to be the one exception which would suggest that he’s amenable to joining them.

Again, with Muzzin’s situation, this isn’t a move that the Maple Leafs will be able to make until they get some further clarity on their veteran.  But that doesn’t stop them from exploring their options in the meantime and McCabe is certainly an interesting target to help replace a lot of what Muzzin brought to the table when he was healthy.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Comrie, McCabe

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The NHL released its Three Stars of last week, with David Pastrnak taking the top spot. The Boston Bruins superstar has scored seven goals in the last three games and now has 32 in 40 games this season. Quite the platform year for the pending free agent, who will need a massive contract from the Bruins to stay in town. It’s also a great showcase for his All-Star participation, which isn’t certain given he’s in the fan vote.

Second and third place went to Jack Hughes and Rasmus Dahlin, two of the most impressive young players (and first-overall picks) in the league. Hughes, 21, leads the league in even-strength goals with 21 and has already matched the career-high he set last season with 26 overall. Five of those came last week as he continues to lead the New Jersey Devils into contender status in the Metropolitan Division. Because of the attention that Tage Thompson is getting as an emerging superstar, Dahlin’s season for the Buffalo Sabres may actually be going a little bit under the radar. The 22-year-old now has 44 points in 36 games, putting him in real contention for the Norris Trophy, given how important he is to the Sabres every night. His 1.22 points-per-game rate trails only Erik Karlsson among NHL defenders this season.

  • Speaking of Buffalo, there’s a bit of a roster crunch happening for the Sabres, as they try to figure out the goaltending situation. Eric Comrie’s conditioning stint is over and he told reporters including Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News that he is healthy and ready to play. As of right now, Comrie remains on injured reserve and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who has played so well in his absence, is still on the roster as an emergency call-up. That won’t be allowed to continue, and the Sabres will have to make a decision one way or another. Send Luukkonen down, put Comrie (or Craig Anderson) on waivers to send him down, or carry three goaltenders on the active roster.
  • When discussing potential defense targets for the Edmonton Oilers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts podcast touched on Jake McCabe of the Chicago Blackhawks. Friedman believes that Edmonton is on McCabe’s no-trade list, which could be the end of any speculation that he could be acquired at the deadline. McCabe holds a seven-team NTC, carries a $4MM cap hit and is signed through the 2024-25 season.

Chicago Blackhawks Activate Jake McCabe

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The Chicago Blackhawks are getting some veteran depth back on the blueline, activating Jake McCabe from injured reserve today. Recovered from cervical spine surgery that took place earlier this offseason, he’s expected to be in the lineup for the team tonight when they take on the Detroit Red Wings.

McCabe, 29, is one of the key pieces brought in during a 2021 offseason that ended up being too little, too late for the Blackhawks. The team struggled out of the gate, was embroiled in controversy, and quickly turned things over to general manager Kyle Davidson, who promptly started a full rebuild. The four-year, $16MM deal that Stan Bowman handed to McCabe doesn’t seem very practical now, though he is at least still young enough to remain an attractive trade candidate.

That is, of course, if he’s fully recovered from the back surgery, which remains to be seen. The long-time Buffalo Sabres defenseman is known for his physical, all-out style, blocking shots and punishing attacking players with equal frequency. Last season for the Blackhawks he led the team in hits and was behind only Calvin de Haan in blocks, while also putting up a very solid 22 points, only trailing Seth Jones in offense from the defense.

If McCabe can get back to a strong level of play, it’s easy to wonder if he’ll be shipped off like the rest of the valuable chips in Chicago. He does hold a seven-team no-trade clause and has a back-loaded contract, but minute-munching defensemen like him are always in demand at trade deadline time.

Injury Updates: McCabe, Jones, Hagg, Sundqvist, Dubois

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Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe has been cleared for contact after undergoing cervical spine surgery in the offseason, reports NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis.  However, he’ll still need time to get into game conditioning and at this point, it seems unlikely that he’ll be ready to play during their three-game road trip to start the season.  However, a return for their first home game on October 21st appears to be a realistic possibility.  While Chicago certainly isn’t planning on contending this season, getting a veteran back that’s capable of playing 20 minutes a night can only help.  Meanwhile, Roumeliotis adds (Twitter link) that blueliner Caleb Jones is also unlikely to play in Wednesday’s opener but should play later on in the trip.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Red Wings defenseman Robert Hagg had a rough start to his Detroit career, taking a puck to the head that has kept him out of preseason action so far. However, he told reporters including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press that he has been cleared to play although he won’t play in tonight’s preseason finale.  Hagg signed a one-year deal after fellow offseason acquisition Mark Pysyk underwent Achilles surgery but might have to settle for starting as an extra defender to start with no exhibition action under his belt.
  • Still with Detroit, center Oskar Sundqvist is expected to be ready for Friday’s season-opener against Montreal, relays Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News (Twitter link). He has been battling an undisclosed injury throughout training camp and has yet to see any preseason action.  The 28-year-old was acquired from St. Louis near the trade deadline last season and did relatively well in his first stint with the Red Wings, collecting four goals and four assists in 18 games down the stretch.
  • Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois exited yesterday’s game after the first period but the injury is not believed to be a serious one, notes Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun. Head coach Rick Bowness indicated that the 24-year-old had a minor lower-body issue that flared up so they pulled him out as a precaution.  Despite leaving early, Dubois had his first two goals of the preseason on Friday and should be ready to return for their season opener on Friday.

Jake McCabe Undergoes Surgery

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Sep 23: When training camp started this week and McCabe was on the ice, it was a surprising sight given how recently the team announced he had surgery. Turns out, McCabe actually had that surgery six weeks ago, so he is already halfway through his recovery according to Tracey Myers of NHL.com.

Sep 13: The Chicago Blackhawks will not have Jake McCabe in the lineup when the season begins, as he recently underwent cervical spine surgery and will be out for 10-12 weeks. McCabe is entering the second season of a four-year, $16MM contract he signed in 2021. Prospect Jalen Luypen will also be out for 14-18 weeks after suffering a rotator cuff injury.

It’s a tough blow for a player that has dealt with injury throughout his career, including a knee issue that took almost all of 2020-21 and limited his play early last season. McCabe eventually would suit up 75 times for the Blackhawks, setting a career-high with 22 points while averaging more than 20 minutes a night.

Now, with a timeline that could potentially take him out until December, McCabe will be fighting another uphill battle. Still just 28 years old, there’s plenty of time for him to recover and get back to being a capable NHL defenseman, but where he fits into Chicago’s future isn’t clear. The team is in a tank phase as they move through a rebuild, and will soon want to give their younger options a chance to show what they can do at the NHL level. That isn’t right away — as shown by the Jack Johnson signing — but it’s hard to see McCabe being a regular contributor by the time the team is ready to compete again.

For now, it is just another long rehab for McCabe to go through. To this point in his nine-year NHL career, he has yet to play in more than 77 games during a single season.

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