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Jake McCabe

Utah Claims Dakota Mermis Off Waivers From Maple Leafs

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The Utah Hockey Club has added some veteran defensive depth in the form of Dakota Mermis, plucking him off the waiver wire from the Maple Leafs, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Leafs’ other waiver placement yesterday, winger Alexander Nylander, passed through unclaimed and was immediately assigned to AHL Toronto, allowing them to activate defenseman Jake McCabe from injured reserve, according to a team announcement.

Utah has been in need of extra bodies on defense seemingly all season long after John Marino sustained a lower-back injury in preseason and Sean Durzi hurt his shoulder just four games into the campaign. Other names, such as Maveric Lamoureux and Robert Bortuzzo, have landed on the shelf in recent days, leading Utah to reach deep into its minor-league depth. Just yesterday, they recalled Kevin Connauton from AHL Tucson – a 34-year-old lefty who last saw NHL ice in the 2021-22 campaign.

Mermis isn’t a gigantic upgrade over internal options like Connauton, but he does have more recent NHL experience. The 30-year-old skated in a career-high 47 games with the Wild last season, posting eight points, a -2 rating, 33 PIMs, and 45 hits while averaging 14:05 per game. He inked a one-way contract with the Maple Leafs over the summer but sustained a jaw injury in training camp. He returned to action on a conditioning loan with their AHL affiliate over the past couple weeks, posting an assist in three outings, and had landed on waivers to continue his tenure in the minors after the two-week limit on his conditioning stint ran out.

Utah had 22 players on the active roster before making the claim for Mermis, so they won’t need to make a corresponding transaction.

Atlantic Notes: Domi, McCabe, Pastrňák, Greenway, Dahlin

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According to David Alter of The Hockey News, the Toronto Maple Leafs had a pair of injured players at practice today. Alter shared that forward Max Domi and defenseman Jake McCabe were full participants at today’s practice and the former could even return tomorrow (X Link).

It’s been nearly a month since Domi suited up for the Maple Leafs since his last game came on November 16th against the Edmonton Oilers. In the first year of a four-year, $15MM contract signed in Toronto this past offseason, Domi has tallied six assists in 19 games for the Maple Leafs while primarily centering the team’s second line.

McCabe has been out for a shorter time with his last contest coming on November 30th. Still, it’s encouraging to see both players at practice given Toronto currently has four players on injured reserve and another three on the long-term injured reserve.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • One notable absence of the Boston Bruins’ practice this morning was David Pastrňák who is reportedly out with an upper-body injury, according to Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe. Boston is hopeful that Pastrňák will be in the lineup tomorrow night against the Winnipeg Jets so the team hasn’t made a corresponding roster move. The Havirov, Czechia native has struggled lately scoring one goal in his last 11 contests.
  • Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News confirms that Buffalo Sabres’ winger Jordan Greenway will return to the lineup tonight against the Detroit Red Wings. He’s missed the last 10 games for the Sabres after scoring three goals and six points through his first 16 contests.
  • One player not returning to Buffalo’s lineup tonight is captain Rasmus Dahlin as the team announced he participated in a rehab skate this morning. There’s growing optimism that Dahlin will be able to return this weekend when the Sabres take on the Washington Capitals on Saturday. The first-year captain in Buffalo has scored three goals and 19 points in 25 games this season.

Maple Leafs Activate Max Pacioretty, Place Jake McCabe On IR

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The Maple Leafs have made a pair of roster moves heading into tonight’s game against Pittsburgh.  The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Max Pacioretty has been activated from LTIR.  To make room on the roster, blueliner Jake McCabe was placed on IR retroactive to November 30th.

Pacioretty will wind up missing only the minimum of 10 games since his placement last month when he sustained a lower-body injury against Montreal.  The 36-year-old has been limited to just 13 games so far in his first season with Toronto.  However, he has been relatively productive in those outings, collecting four goals and two assists despite averaging just 12:11 of playing time per night, a career low.

Pacioretty has already reached the first half of his $626,230 bonus pool when he played in his tenth game of the season early last month.  He needs to get to 35 to collect the other half of it so he’ll be looking to stay healthy the rest of the way.

As for McCabe, he has missed the last week due to an upper-body injury sustained against Tampa Bay at the end of November.  Thanks to the retroactive placement, he has already missed the required seven days and thus is eligible to be activated as soon as he’s cleared to return.

After putting up a career-high 28 points last season, the 31-year-old earned a five-year, $23.5MM extension back in late October.  However, he has been a bit quieter offensively so far this season, collecting just five assists through his first 23 games although he’s averaging a career-best 21:20 in playing time.  After being a frequent healthy scratch early on, Philippe Myers has played the last three games in McCabe’s absence.

Maple Leafs Notes: Hakanpää, McCabe, McMann

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Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said Thursday that defenseman Jani Hakanpää recently underwent a second minor procedure on his knee that shouldn’t keep him out of action for too much longer, per David Alter of The Hockey News.

Hakanpää, 32, has suited up only twice this season for Toronto after finalizing a one-year, $1.47MM deal late in free agency. He underwent a knee procedure early in the offseason after missing the last 13 regular-season and all 19 playoff games for the Stars, keeping him out of action until he got his season started in early November on an AHL conditioning stint.

The veteran defender, who was named to Finland’s roster for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off yesterday, suited up in back-to-back contests for the Leafs on Nov. 13 and Nov. 16 before exiting the lineup. Toronto moved him to injured reserve on Monday to open up a roster spot, and he’s eligible to return at any time. With Berube claiming that he should start skating soon, it’s fair to anticipate a return to action before the end of the month.

The 6’6″ Hakanpää posted a -1 rating and averaged only 14:05 per game across his two appearances, adding two shots, four blocks, and one hit. The stay-at-home defender was paired with Morgan Rielly, but the duo struggled defensively, controlling only 38.1% of expected goals and allowing 3.36 expected goals per 60 minutes, per MoneyPuck.

There’s more from Leafland today:

  • Defenseman Jake McCabe will remain out of the lineup tomorrow against the Capitals, Berube told reporters, including Mark Masters of TSN. He did skate today, though, according to Masters, and Berube said he’s “feeling better” after missing the last two games with an upper-body injury. The Leafs eagerly await getting their top-four fixture back in the lineup – Philippe Myers has played spot duty alongside Rielly the past couple of games while Oliver Ekman-Larsson shifted to McCabe’s usual spot alongside Chris Tanev.
  • Winger Bobby McMann is progressing in his recovery from his lower-body injury but won’t play in Toronto’s remaining two games this week. Berube told reporters that “he could hopefully be an option for next week” if he starts skating the next couple of days (via Masters). The 28-year-old has missed the last three contests after sustaining the injury on Nov. 27 against the Panthers. The late-blooming forward has been productive when in the lineup, scoring six goals in 21 games while averaging a career-high 14:01 per game.

East Notes: McCabe, Matinpalo, Deslauriers

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Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe will miss Wednesday’s tilt against the Predators with an upper-body injury, head coach Craig Berube told reporters including David Alter of The Hockey News.

It will be the second game in a row McCabe has missed with the injury, which he sustained after taking a puck to the head/neck area against the Lightning last Saturday. McCabe said yesterday that he’d be “good to go” against Nashville, but Berube said today the blue-liner still “isn’t feeling right.” It’s unknown whether he’s in concussion protocol.

Fresh off signing a five-year, $23.5MM extension in October, the 31-year-old McCabe has been one-half of the best shutdown defense pairing in hockey alongside free-agent pickup Chris Tanev. Together, the duo is allowing just 1.3 expected goals against per 60 minutes, the fewest in the league by a country mile among pairings with at least 180 minutes of ice time together this season.

Offensively, McCabe has only five assists in 23 games, but he leads the team with a +11 rating and is second in both blocks (46) and hits (52). The Wisconsin native is also averaging a career-high 21:20 per game. Frequent healthy scratch Philippe Myers is projected to remain in a fringe top-four role alongside Morgan Rielly tonight, per Mark Masters of TSN, while Oliver Ekman-Larsson shifts back to his natural left side to skate alongside Tanev in place of McCabe.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • Recent Senators call-up Nikolas Matinpalo is absent from practice today due to an illness, per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. Ottawa elevated the 26-year-old from AHL Belleville yesterday to serve as an additional right-shot option with Artem Zub landing on long-term injured reserve, but it doesn’t appear he’ll be an option on Thursday against the Red Wings. The 6’2″ Finn likely would have sat in the press box anyway with Jacob Bernard-Docker, Travis Hamonic and Nick Jensen still all available on the right side.
  • Flyers enforcer Nicolas Deslauriers left today’s practice session early due to an undisclosed injury, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports. Head coach John Tortorella told reporters that something “tightened up” and didn’t necessarily call his departure precautionary, so it’s fair to call him questionable for for tomorrow’s home game against the Panthers. It won’t make much of a difference – the 33-year-old has been a healthy scratch for 10 games in a row and hasn’t played since Nov. 9. He has one assist in seven appearances this season with one fight while averaging a career-low 6:05 per game.

Maple Leafs Sign Jake McCabe To Five-Year Extension

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9:52 a.m.: The first-year salary of McCabe’s extension will be paid out mostly via signing bonus, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. The second, third and fourth years of the deal also include some signing bonus money, while the fifth and final season is paid entirely via base salary. McCabe’s total compensation each year breaks down as follows:

2025-26: $6MM
2026-27: $5.5MM (including deferred money)
2027-28: $5.5MM (including deferred money)
2028-29: $3.6MM
2029-30: $3.6MM

9:02 a.m.: The Maple Leafs have signed defenseman Jake McCabe to a five-year extension, the team announced today. It keeps the blue liner off next summer’s UFA market and makes him cost $4.51MM against the salary cap through the 2029-30 campaign. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports the total value of the deal is higher than the cap hit indicates due to deferred money in the 2026-27 and 2027-28 campaigns. McCabe’s agency, Bartlett Hockey, confirms the total value of the contract is $23.5MM, equating to an AAV of $4.7MM.

It’s hardly unexpected news. Friedman reported at the beginning of September that McCabe and the Leafs had begun extension talks, which McCabe confirmed at the beginning of training camp. Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos added shortly before the regular season started that the two sides were close to a deal, although the final contract is shorter than the six-year, $30MM pact he predicted.

For the past couple of years, Toronto has benefitted from McCabe’s services at a bargain-bin price. He signed a four-year, $16MM contract ($4MM AAV) with the Blackhawks in free agency in 2021, but with the team squarely in a rebuild, they traded him and depth forward Sam Lafferty to the Leafs before the 2023 trade deadline. Chicago retained half of McCabe’s salary in the deal, meaning he’s cost only $2MM against Toronto’s cap.

Even his full $4MM cap hit would have likely been below market value for McCabe, who’s averaged north of 20 minutes per game in a Maple Leafs sweater. Last season was the 31-year-old’s best, as he posted a career-high 28 points (8 G, 20 A) in 73 games and a +20 rating.

His possession metrics back up those numbers, painting the picture of an extremely valuable two-way, top-four defender. McCabe’s usage trended toward the defensive zone at even strength, but even still, the Leafs controlled 50.6% of shot attempts with him on the ice last season and 51.6% of expected goals. He was also one of their most physically involved players, finishing third on the team in blocks (129) and second in hits (219).

McCabe is off to a similar start this season. He’s averaging 21:09 per game, which is on pace for a career-high while adding three assists and a +6 rating in nine appearances. He has 17 blocks and 19 hits, ranking second on the team in each category, and the Leafs are controlling 55.4% of shot attempts and 54.7% of expected goals at even strength with him on the ice.

He’ll never be a significant factor on the scoresheet, but he’s not an offensive liability. He can be deployed in power-play situations if necessary and is good in transition. Having him under contract through his age-36 season could be dicey, but for now, just north of $4.5MM is an extremely affordable cap hit for what his all-around game provides.

The Maple Leafs now have $66.23MM in cap space tied up in 15 players for next season. Assuming a projected cap increase to $92.5MM, that gives them roughly $26.27MM in space to fill eight roster spots, including new deals for UFA forwards Mitch Marner and John Tavares and RFA Matthew Knies.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Atlantic Notes: McCabe, Pacioretty, Benson

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Mitch Marner and John Tavares project as the two most high-profile players on the Maple Leafs roster eligible for an extension during the 2024-25 NHL season. The one seemingly closest to the finish line, however, is defenseman Jake McCabe with reports shortly before the season began indicating an extension was close between the two sides.

James Mirtle of The Athletic wrote in an article today (Subscription Required) that offered some comparables and context behind Toronto’s desire to keep McCabe around beyond this season. Mirtle highlighted Winnipeg Jets’ defenseman Dylan DeMelo as the most reasonable comparable although it’s difficult to discern a perfect one for any player. DeMelo signed a four-year, $19.6MM extension with the Jets almost a week before he was set to become an unrestricted free agent this past offseason.

If McCabe’s camp seeks a salary similar to 5.6% of the salary cap like DeMelo that would put his AAV at around $5.15MM. Since McCabe shares a desire to stay with the Maple Leafs beyond this season Toronto could manage to lower his AAV if they add a fifth year to his contract. It’s still a negotiation requiring fine-tuning with the Maple Leafs having several pending unrestricted and restricted free agents on the roster. It’s likely a situation they’ll want to avoid slow-playing less losing their third-most valuable defenseman.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • Sticking in Toronto — veteran forward Max Pacioretty left the team’s game last night with a lower-body injury in the second period and never returned to action. There doesn’t appear to be any long-term concern for the injury nor any indication it’s connected to his past Achilles injuries shares Nick Alberga of TheLeafsNation. It should only keep him off the ice for the next few days likely making him an option for the team’s game tomorrow night against the St. Louis Blues.
  • The Buffalo Sabres returned to practice this morning after a big win against the Dallas Stars but were still absent Zach Benson who’s been dealing with a mysterious ailment (X Link). Reports indicate Benson is nursing a lower-body injury suffered during the organization’s trip to Prague to kick off the regular season but the Sabres have been vague about his status up to this point. The ailment appears to have affected his play on the ice with Benson going scoreless through his first six contests while averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time per game.

Maple Leafs Announce Multiple Minor Injuries

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced a handful of injuries as they approach their final game. The group is notably led by winger Nicholas Robertson, who’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury per David Alter of The Hockey News. Robertson has been among Toronto’s biggest standouts this preseason, netting a team-leading three goals through four appearances. Toronto has been vocal about Robertson’s chance to earn more ice time this season, as they look to fill the void left by 20-goal scorer Tyler Bertuzzi, who moved to the Chicago Blackhawks this summer. Robertson has stifled through menial NHL roles for the past three seasons, with the 2023-24 campaign representing his only full year with the Leafs. He’s so far totaled 34 points, split evenly, in 87 career appearances.

Robertson will be joined on the absentee list by defender Jake McCabe (upper-body) and utility forward Calle Jarnkrok (lower-body), who are bearing through day-to-day injuries of their own per a team announcement. Both players have only played in two games this preseason, and neither scored a point.

McCabe proved the healthier of the two in 2023-24, though a groin injury held him out of nine games in the year’s first half. He scored a career-high eight goals and 28 points in his remaining 73 games, while averaging over-20 minutes of ice time for the first time since the 2021-22 season. Jarnkrok’s role wasn’t as substantial, instead spending his time rotating through the team’s third line. He recorded 10 goals and 21 points in 52 games, near-perfectly half of his scoring totals from last year.

All three players seem to be locks for Toronto’s lineup when healthy, plenty of reason to be cautious with just one preseason matchup against Detroit remaining on their calendar. They’ll now each look to heal quickly, in preparation for the Leafs’ season opener against Montreal on October 9th.

Atlantic Notes: McCabe, Senators, Laine

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There may be one more contract to sign for the Toronto Maple Leafs before they take the ice for the regular season. Nick Kypreos, co-host of the show, Real Kyper and Bourne, promoted yesterday that Toronto and defenseman Jake McCabe may have an extension finalized by the end of the week.

The Sportsnet co-host said, “The one thing I did hear is potentially a Jake McCabe extension coming, maybe before the season starts. I heard talks were real good. Now, still maybe debatable on how much term and maybe that still might fluctuate the AAV. But I’m thinking right now that he’d have no problem right now next season making $30 million over six years“.

A contract of this magnitude would only mark a slight pay increase for McCabe who is entering the last year of a four-year, $16MM contract originally signed with the Chicago Blackhawks. The term may be the deciding factor as a six-year deal would take McCabe into his age-37 season which could prove too lengthy for the Maple Leafs. It’s tough to argue with the results as McCabe has fit like a glove in Toronto’s system since being acquired from the Blackhawks in 2022-23.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • The Ottawa Senators received good news on the injury front with Alex Adams of Sportsnet reporting that Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, and Thomas Chabot were all on the ice for practice this afternoon. All three players were seemingly injured in the team’s most recent preseason contest against the Montreal Canadiens but none of the ailments proved costly. The game between the Canadiens was one of the more chaotic preseason games in recent memory with a whopping 79 PIMs bestowed upon the clubs.
  • Montreal avoided a major blow to their forward core earlier this week with the announcement Patrik Laine would only be out two to three months with a knee sprain and would not require surgery which likely saved his season. Laine spoke briefly about his desire to forego surgery when he said, “It was one of those you could go either way. I don’t think there’s ever any guarantees whether you do surgery or not…they did a good job of explaining the whole process and reassuring the chances are very high, that made me feel better about it” (X Link).

Atlantic Notes: Ullmark, Lorentz, McCabe, Seider

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Linus Ullmark is preaching consistency as he takes his talents between the pipes from Boston to Ottawa. The 2023 Vezina Trophy winner will be the Sens’ biggest X factor as they try to return to the postseason for the first time in seven years. He’ll play a leadership role as well after three straight playoff appearances with the Bruins.

“I have to show them how it has to be done every single day and not just same days,” Ullmark told Bruce Garrioch for the Ottawa Citizen. “It’s a long road ahead of us. You can’t just play for 25 games, you’ve got to play for 82 [games]. When the dog days come around 56 games into the season, and you’re gone on a road trip for nine days, and you’re going on a back-to-back in Western Canada or whatever it may be, those are the games that you need to win. It’s all about making steps and becoming the better team after every 20 games or so.”

Ullmark’s acquisition alone may be enough for the Sens to get back to the playoffs. They’ve retooled their roster in other areas, but Ullmark has been a consistently above-average starter, even dating back to his final couple of years with the Sabres around the pandemic. He saved 13.7 goals above average last season, night and day, compared to Joonas Korpisalo’s, Anton Forsberg’s, and Mads Søgaard’s combined -36.8 GSAA for Ottawa last year. The Senators actually outpaced the Bruins at even strength in their ability to control shot attempts, scoring chances, and high-danger chances.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • Maple Leafs training camp attendee Steven Lorentz hit a snag Friday in his quest to land a contract from his PTO. The forward is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury and didn’t skate, per the team. After spending most of last season in the press box for the Stanley Cup champion Panthers, recording three points in 38 games, the 28-year-old pivot had to settle for a tryout offer earlier this month.
  • Still with Toronto, defenseman Jake McCabe confirmed a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman a few weeks ago that his camp has begun contract extension negotiations. The 30-year-old told reporters today, including David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, that he’s loved his time with the Leafs and will let his agent continue talks throughout the season. Toronto has had McCabe on their books at a bargain $2MM cap hit for the past season and a half, thanks to the Blackhawks retaining 50% of his $4MM AAV in the February 2023 deal that sent him to Ontario.
  • Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider isn’t at training camp Friday after inking his seven-year, $59.85MM deal yesterday, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. He’s still in his native Germany but is scheduled to fly to Detroit tomorrow. He’ll link up with the team on Tuesday. The Wings’ first preseason game isn’t until Wednesday in Chicago, so he’ll be technically available to play, but that would be a tight turnaround.

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