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The Toronto Maple Leafs held practice at the Ford Performance Centre in Etobicoke, ON in preparation for their first home game in two weeks against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, and defenseman Travis Dermott did not participate due to illness.
With Dermott unavailable, the Leafs have recalled blueliner Kevin Gravel from the Toronto Marlies. Gravel, 27, played three games for Toronto earlier in the season and has no points in eight games for their AHL affiliate.
Martin Marincin took Dermott’s spot on the second defensive pairing with Tyson Barrie, and will likely play against the Senators barring any quick recovery. Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated following practice that backup Michael Hutchinson will start on Saturday.
Hutchinson has not started since a 3-0 shutout victory over the New York Islanders on January 4, but has relieved Frederik Andersen twice this month, taking losses against Edmonton on January 6 and in Florida on January 12.
The Leafs play 15 games in February (including a pair of back-to-backs) and face a critical contest against the Panthers on Monday, which means that Keefe will have find the right opportunities to get his starting goaltender rest over the next month.
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TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported last week that the Leafs and representatives for defenseman Jake Muzzin had some preliminary discussions on a new contract, and on Thursday there were indications that the club and agent Joe Resnick would meet in the coming days to further the contract talks.
Muzzin turns 31 next month and there is mutual interest in getting a new deal done, but that would likely depend on the cap hit and term on a new contract.
The Stanley Cup winner could be one of the more attractive defensive unrestricted free agents on the market this summer, but with the expiring contracts of Cody Ceci and Tyson Barrie, and Rasmus Sandin’s likely inclusion on the roster on his entry-level contract, the Leafs would be able to give Muzzin pay raise over his current $4 Million salary.
The difficulty will be getting Dermott signed to an affordable extension and being able to add another blueliner to replace Barrie or Ceci. The Leafs will likely try to get Dermott on a short-term bridge deal, which will keep his cap hit in the same range as the three-year, $6 Million deal signed by Justin Holl.
Adding another top-four defenseman will necessitate clearing cap space by moving out a forward with a significant salary in Alex Kerfoot, Andreas Johnsson, Kasperi Kapanen or William Nylander, but that depends on the quality of defenseman that GM Kyle Dubas chooses to pursue in the off-season.
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— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) January 28, 2020
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