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The Toronto Maple Leafs said in October after the neck injury to Jake Muzzin that they would provide an update on the veteran defenseman in mid-February and not shockingly the Leafs issued a statement that Muzzin will not be available to the club for the rest of the 2022-23 season.
“After (a) follow-up consultation this month with various specialists, our medical staff have determined that defenceman Jake Muzzin has been ruled out for the rest of the 2022-23 regular season and playoffs as he recovers from a cervical spine injury.… The Leafs said in a press release on Wednesday. “The club will provide a further update as to his status at training camp in September 2023.…
The 34-year-old blueliner has one year remaining on a four-year, $22.5 million contract ($5.625 million AAV) and if he is not medically cleared at training camp, he will be placed on LTIR for next season as well.
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The Leafs placed forward Joey Anderson on waivers on Wednesday. The 24-year-old winger had three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in 14 games and 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) in 30 games with the AHL Toronto Marlies.
Anderson could be a claim target since he is making the NHL minimum $750,000 salary, but teams may be hesitant to add a contract this close to the deadline, which could help the Leafs slip a useful forward down to the AHL.
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Toronto in a building that they normally do not show up in put forth an excellent effort for two periods against the Buffalo Sabres, and holding on for a 6-3 victory at Key Bank Center on Tuesday. The line of Ryan O’Reilly, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner accounted for 13 points, with the newest Leaf scoring a hat trick in this third game with the Blue and White.
Toronto scored four goals in the first period, chasing Buffalo goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and added a second-period power-play goal from William Nylander.
“(That line was) just at their best right from the start. As we talked about before the game, I thought that group was close the other night.… Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. “Our team in general, and our team game — in that first period was as dominant as we’ve been all season long. It was tremendous to see.…
The Leafs did get sloppy and goalie Ilya Samsonov let in a trio of goals in the third to narrow the gap to 5-3 before O’Reilly completed his hat trick into the empty net. With the win, Samsonov moves to 20-7-2 on the season, and Toronto remained three points ahead of the Lightning, who beat Anaheim 6-1 in Tampa Bay. *******