Toronto — The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed defenceman Jake Muzzin to a four-year contract extension.
The new deal carries an annual value of over US$5.6 million.
The 30-year-old Muzzin has 22 points in 52 games with the Maple Leafs this season, and 38 points in 82 games since joining Toronto in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 28, 2019.
In 578 career regular-season NHL games, Muzzin has registered 251 points (61 goals, 190 assists) while adding 22 points in 57 playoff games. He helped the Kings win the 2014 Stanley Cup.
Muzzin, with a plus/minus rating of plus-11, provides some stability on a troubled Toronto defence which has surrendered 210 goals this season, tied for fourth-most in the league heading into Monday night's action.
The Maple Leafs confirmed the new contract, which had been rumoured for weeks, 15 minutes after the 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.
Toronto was otherwise quiet on trade-deadline day, with one minor deal that sent goalie Michael Hutchinson to the Colorado Avalanche for defenceman Calle Rosen.
Hutchinson, 29, appeared in 15 games with the Leafs this season, posting a 4-9-1 record, a 3.66 goals-against average and an .886 save percentage before the club acquired Jack Campbell from the Los Angeles Kings earlier this month to help with the troublesome backup role behind Frederik Andersen.
The native of Barrie, Ont., was also 3-1-0 with a 1.98 goals-against average and .943 save percentage with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League in 2019-20.
Acquired by Colorado from Toronto as part of the trade that saw Nazem Kadri/Tyson Barrie trade back on July 1, Rosen recorded two assists in eight games for the Avalanche this season.
The 26-year-old was originally signed by the Leafs to a two-year entry-level contract in May 2017.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2020.
