Jake Muzzin

Lore & Background

Muzzin played his early minor hockey in the Woodstock Minor Hockey Association before moving on to AAA in Brantford, Ontario. He committed to hockey at age 13 after also playing soccer. He was selected 11th overall by the Sault Ste.

Marie Greyhounds in the 2005 OHL Priority Selection Draft. After requiring herniated disc surgery at age 16, he played only 37 regular season games and 13 playoff games before being drafted 141st overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2007. He went unsigned and re-entered the 2009 draft but was not picked, returning for an overage year with the Greyhounds, where he served as team captain and won the Max Kaminsky Trophy as top defenceman in the OHL.

Professional

Muzzin signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Kings in 2010. He made the Kings' opening night roster in 2010–11 but was assigned to the AHL's Manchester Monarchs shortly after. He was recalled during the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs as a Black Ace and was on the roster as a healthy scratch when the Kings won the Cup, though he did not appear in any games.

He scored his first NHL goal on January 26, 2013, against Jason LaBarbera of the Phoenix Coyotes, and was named NHL Rookie of the Month for March 2013. He signed a two-year contract extension in July 2013 and later a five-year extension in October 2014. In the 2014 playoffs, he averaged 23:23 minutes of ice time per game, including 37:18 in game five of the Stanley Cup Final.

Muzzin was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 28, 2019, in exchange for Carl Grundström, the playing rights to Sean Durzi, and a first-round pick. He signed a four-year, $22.5 million contract extension with the Leafs on February 24, 2020.

During the 2021–22 season, he suffered two concussions within a month, the first from a check by Klim Kostin and the second from a collision with Chris Wideman. The following season, after appearing in only four games, he injured his spine in a collision with Clayton Keller and was ruled out for the rest of the season. He remained on injured reserve for the 2023–24 season and joined the Leafs' front office as a professional scout in October 2023, later moving to player development.

Reader's Guide

Muzzin's career is notable for his journey from an unsigned draft pick to a Stanley Cup champion and key defensive contributor for two NHL teams. After being drafted by Pittsburgh but not signed, he returned to the OHL as an overage player, captained the Greyhounds, and won the Max Kaminsky Trophy before signing with the Kings as a free agent. He developed into a reliable defenceman, eventually playing on the top pairing with Drew Doughty and logging heavy minutes in the 2014 playoffs, including over 37 minutes in a single Stanley Cup Final game. His trade to Toronto in 2019 brought a veteran presence to the Maple Leafs' blue line, and he signed a four-year extension the following year.

However, his playing career was cut short by a series of injuries, including concussions and a spinal injury that ultimately led to him being placed on long-term injured reserve. He transitioned to a front-office role with the Maple Leafs as a professional scout in 2023 and later moved to player development, continuing his involvement with the organization. Internationally, he won gold with Canada at the 2015 World Championship and 2016 World Cup of Hockey.