Leafs' Muzzin ready to return from broken hand if season resumes
The Toronto Maple Leafs will have their full blue line intact if the NHL is able to return this season. Jake Muzzin, who missed the last six games before the pause due to a broken hand, is ready to play.
"The hand is feeling great, the body is feeling good. I'd say pretty much 100 percent ready to go," Muzzin told NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger on Tuesday. "Been getting treatment and staying ready like everyone else."
The Leafs were also without Morgan Rielly for 23 games, but he returned to the lineup for the final game before the league went on pause. Since Muzzin missed nearly a month earlier in the season due to a broken foot, the Leafs haven't played a game with both Rielly and Muzzin - their top two defensemen - in the lineup since Dec. 27.
Muzzin has 23 points in 53 games this season, playing primarily shutdown minutes against other teams' top lines alongside Justin Holl. Despite the tough competition, the pairing posted impressive underlying numbers, garnering 56.3% of the expected goals while the two were on the ice together at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
In February, the Leafs inked Muzzin to a four-year extension carrying an average annual value of $5.625 million.