The Toronto Maple Leafs and defenseman Jake Muzzin are expected to come to terms on a contract extension by the Feb. 24 trade deadline, TSN's Darren Dreger reported on Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."
"It's getting closer. It's not done yet, (but) the expectation is - if all things progress in the fashion that they are - that they should have a contract extension in place for Jake Muzzin as early (as) or before the trade deadline," Dreger said.
The term and value of the extension are unclear at this point, and Dreger added the Maple Leafs are working through different scenarios to determine what's best for their salary-cap picture.
Toronto acquired Muzzin from the Los Angeles Kings last season. An unrestricted free agent as of July 1, the 30-year-old said in late January he'd "love to stay" with the team beyond this campaign.
The Maple Leafs are projected to have roughly $10 million in cap space for the 2020-21 season, according to Cap Friendly. That figure excludes any potential increase to the league's salary cap. Along with Muzzin, Toronto defensemen Tyson Barrie (unrestricted), Cody Ceci (unrestricted), and Travis Dermott (restricted) are all slated to become free agents at season's end.
Muzzin's been limited to 46 games this season due to a broken foot he suffered in December. He's posted three goals and 12 assists while averaging 21:38 per contest in 2019-20.
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