The Toronto Maple Leafs, led by general manager Brad Treliving, are obviously prioritizing defense.
In light of this, I believe the Toronto Maple Leafs ought to make an effort to extend the contract of defenseman Jake McCabe.
In October, the defenseman for the Leafs will turn 31. Treliving loves his hardnosed style, which he can still play.
It is not impossible for there to be an extension. It might be McCabe’s final contract. It should not be too difficult to secure a long-term extension to keep McCabe in Toronto, as the Leafs recently signed 34-year-old defenseman Chris Tanev to a six-year contract.
The Toronto Maple Leafs ought to prolong McCabe, Jake
McCabe cost the Leafs $2 million in salary cap when he was acquired via trade with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2022, with 50% of his salary being retained. Long-term McCabe retention would need to begin at roughly $4.5 million to $5 million per season. As long as the NHL salary cap keeps rising at its current rate ($4.5 million), that shouldn’t be an issue. (Pay cap details sourced from puckpedia.com)
I believe that McCabe’s extension gets lost in the shuffle when everyone is focused on potential extensions for Mitch Marner and John Tavares, the captain of the Leafs. While extending Tavares and Marner is a popular topic of conversation, McCabe should also not be overlooked because he can still play 19–20 minutes per night and be a member of the Leafs’ top four.
Instead of waiting until after this season to make him an unrestricted free agent (UFA), the Leafs should make him an extension offer.
McCabe had his best NHL season last year during his first full season with the Leafs. In addition to 20 assists for 28 points (a career high), he scored eight goals. McCabe averaged 20:39 minutes of ice time last season and finished with 129 blocked shots and 219 hits.
(All stats from hockey-reference.com)
McCabe should benefit even more under new head coach Craig Berube. If McCabe can stay healthy and play a minimum of 80 games this season, I think he will be able to register ten goals and 30+ points. Playing under Berube, I think McCabe will get more power play time as well.
He is the type of defenseman that both Berube and Treliving love on their team. So, a contract extension should be expected. The best part for Treliving is he might be able to keep the cost down by offering McCabe a longer-term contract.
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