• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Toronto Maple Leafs

Muzzin Injury Raises Questions for Maple Leafs’ Defence

By Chris Faria August 6th, 2020

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

The Toronto Maple Leafs delivered perhaps their best performance of the season on Tuesday afternoon with a dominating 3-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Any reason to celebrate, though, was overshadowed by an apparent neck injury to defenceman Jake Muzzin, who was stretchered off the ice late in the third period.

Scary scene at Scotiabank Arena as @MapleLeafs defenceman Jake Muzzin was stretchered off the ice. pic.twitter.com/AIpBPM3bTl

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 4, 2020

News broke Wednesday afternoon that Muzzin was released from hospital, though he will miss the remainder of the qualifier series against the Blue Jackets.

Related: 5 Takeaways From Maple Leafs’ Game 2 Shutout

On the bright side, it appears that the Woodstock, Ontario native avoided serious injury in what was a very scary moment for everyone involved. On the other hand, an already porous Maple Leafs defence will now have to cope without their top defender. How will Toronto patch up their blue line?

Marincin or Sandin?

First and foremost, head coach Sheldon Keefe will have to decide on who draws in as the team’s sixth defenceman, with his choices presumably coming down to stay-at-home defender Martin Marincin and 20-year-old rookie Rasmus Sandin.

Related: Nick Robertson Should be a Maple Leaf Next Season

We know that Keefe won’t shy away from dressing his youngsters, given that 18-year-old winger Nick Robertson has featured in the first two games of the series. But at the same time, there is something to be said for stability, consistency, and knowing what you’re getting from a player – especially on the back end – which is where Marincin may have the upper hand.

Martin Marincin Toronto Maple Leafs
Martin Marincin may have the inside track as Jake Muzzin’s replacement. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

With all the injuries to the Maple Leafs’ blue line down the stretch, the smooth-skating Sandin did slide in as a regular from January onward, playing in 22 of the team’s final 24 games before the shutdown. However, the rookie defenceman never earned the complete trust of coach Keefe, playing less than 15 minutes a night. Even in those heavily sheltered minutes, Sandin never really hit his stride, putting up one goal, five assists, and mediocre underlying numbers.

On top of Sandin’s late-season struggles, the Maple Leafs are also looking for someone to pick up the slack on the penalty kill in Muzzin’s absence. Sandin doesn’t really kill penalties (at least not yet at the NHL level), while that’s basically Marincin’s specialty. Ultimately, this will be the main reason that the 6-foot-5 defender draws into the lineup for Game 3 on Thursday night.

Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Rasmus Sandin
Rasmus Sandin’s vision and passing meshes well with Toronto’s game plan against Columbus. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes)

Personally, I would love to see Sandin get some ice time in this series, both for his development and because his style of play fits perfectly with the Maple Leafs’ winning strategy from Game 2. We saw Toronto overwhelm Columbus with their skating and quick, smart passing – two things that the Swede excels at. Meanwhile, Marincin isn’t necessarily a great skater or puck-mover, so his insertion into the lineup may give the Blue Jackets an easy target on the forecheck.

Toronto could get creative and go with an 11-forward, seven-defenceman approach to allow both Marincin and Sandin to draw in and split bottom-pairing duties. The only downside of such a move would likely be removing Kyle Clifford from the lineup, which seems hard to justify after his impact on Game 2.

Who Will Pick Up Muzzin’s Minutes?

Averaging over 23 minutes of ice time through the first two games of the series, it’s clear that Morgan Rielly has been Toronto’s No. 1 defenceman thus far, especially on the offensive side of things. But even with all that ice time, Rielly and his partner Cody Ceci didn’t necessarily draw many matchups against Columbus’ top line of Pierre-Luc Dubois, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Alexandre Texier. That shutdown role was left to Muzzin and Justin Holl, who played more five-on-five minutes together this season than any other pairing for Toronto. And that chemistry and responsibility won’t be easy to replace.

So we’re left with two questions – how much more ice time can Rielly eat up, and who will pick up shutdown duty?

Morgan Rielly Toronto Maple Leafs
Morgan Rielly will be expected to eat up even more minutes in Muzzin’s absence. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Regarding Rielly’s minutes, I think the answer is pretty straightforward: this is the playoffs and anything goes. For the first time since maybe October, the Maple Leafs’ stud defenceman is fully healthy and skating more like his usual self. Already averaging over 23 minutes a night, don’t be surprised to see Rielly’s ice time up around 26 or 27 minutes throughout the rest of the series. After all, it’s only two or three more games and a healthy Rielly should be more than capable of carrying the load.

Perhaps the more interesting question is how the Maple Leafs will replace Muzzin’s shutdown minutes directly, and that answer is up for debate. TSN beat reporter Kristen Shilton puts forth a potentially controversial idea:

IF Jake Muzzin is unavailable for any of Games 3/4/5, I feel like the Marincin-Holl pairing is going to make a comeback and y'all will not be here for it

— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) August 5, 2020

I’m not sure I see the fit myself. Stylistically the fit is a big questionable as neither Marincin nor Holl are high-end puck movers. Holl is certainly comfortable with the puck on his stick, but he’s not really expected to break pucks out as often as Rielly, Tyson Barrie, or even Travis Dermott. Marincin, as we know, is more of a defensive specialist as well, which leads me to believe that this pairing would struggle against a heavy Columbus forecheck. Given what we saw in Game 2 from Toronto, the key to beating that Blue Jackets’ attack is quick, precise puck movement, so I think they’ll be better served to have at least one puck mover on each pairing.

Related: How Can the Maple Leafs Crack Blue Jackets in Game 2?

If we’re adopting the philosophy of one puck-mover per pairing, and assuming that Rielly will pick up even more minutes, we may see something like this:

Rielly – Holl

Dermott – Ceci

Marincin – Barrie

Alternatively, Keefe may want to keep the Rielly-Ceci pairing intact for chemistry purposes (although I’m not sure the pairing actually works that well), which would likely create a relatively sturdy duo of Dermott-Holl instead.

Regardless of what the Maple Leafs choose to do with their defence, one thing is abundantly clear: everyone will have to pick up some of the slack to make up for the absence of Muzzin’s leadership and on-ice presence.

How this patchwork Maple Leafs blue line responds could very well determine their fate in the series.

Stats from http://naturalstattrick.com/

  • Tags
  • 2020 NHL Playoffs
  • Jake Muzzin
  • Martin Marincin
  • Rasmus Sandin
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 21st 5:55 PM
Edmonton Oilers

McDavid Has the Maple Leafs’ Number and Needs to Keep it That Way

Jan 21st 5:08 PM
Archives

NHLers by Country: On Top of Their Game and the World

Jan 21st 4:50 PM
Edmonton Oilers

Oilers Missing Klefbom and Neal on Power Play

Jan 21st 4:40 PM
Minnesota Wild

Wild’s Soucy & Sturm Look Comfortable Filling Roster Gaps

Jan 21st 4:30 PM
Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche With Career Milestones in Sight in 2020-21 Season

Jan 21st 3:45 PM
Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning & Pat Maroon Are a Really Good Fit…For Now

Jan 21st 3:35 PM
Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights’ Depth Separates Them From the Rest

Jan 21st 3:15 PM
Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets’ Alexandre Texier, New Faces Shine to Begin Season

Jan 21st 2:45 PM
Edmonton Oilers

Oilers News & Rumors: Neal, Yamamoto, Tippett, More

Jan 21st 2:15 PM
Column

Senators News & Rumours: Stützle, Norris, Galchenyuk and More

Editor’s Picks
NHL TV Blackouts & Why They Happen?

NHL TV Blackouts & Why They Happen?

The 1979 NHL – WHA Merger

The 1979 NHL – WHA Merger

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information