'Guys Can Take Better Care Of Their Sticks': Maple Leafs' Jake McCabe Vividly Annoyed Following Injury Scare

In the last game for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, defenseman Jake McCabe found himself in a scary situation. 

Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson caught McCabe with a high stick around his eye in the first period. McCabe went down immediately and was bleeding onto the ice in a rough scene. The Leafs defenseman left the ice and did not return to the game for precautionary reasons. The veteran said that by the time everything was settled regarding his injury, the score was heavily in favor of Toronto, and he had already been out of the game for a while.

McCabe attended morning skate with a clear gash in the area where Johnson high-sticked him, but besides the scare, he says he'll be fine for their next game against the New York Rangers on Thursday.

"Certainly panic for a couple seconds, and was able to open it up quick and see that I could see still," McCabe said after Thursday's morning skate. "Paul (Ayotte) always takes good care of us and our training staff and their docs. Just a little bit of swelling right away, obviously, and yesterday, but it feels a lot better today."

McCabe was a victim of an accident, and he understands Johnson didn't mean to do that. However, he was vividly annoyed by the fact that the 24-year-old wasn't able to keep his stick down.

"A little bit, yeah, I'll be honest," McCabe said of feeling frustrated by the situation. "I think guys can take better care of their sticks for sure. But obviously, it's an accident. You know, I'm not going to fault him for that. But just a general consensus. I've gotten a couple high sticks the last three, four games, and they seem to be from younger players. So. Keep your stick down."

Defenseman Darren Raddysh was asked if he has noticed younger players in the NHL being careless with their sticks.

"I think as guys get younger coming into the league, I think you know, guys are a little bit wary of their sticks, and guys you know have been known to do that," Raddysh said. "I just try to keep my head in a good position, and just make sure I'm putting myself in good spots and not giving myself the chance to get in those."

Besides the frustration of a preventable accident that caused a very serious situation on Tuesday, McCabe's teammates credit his toughness for playing through these dangerous incidents.

"Jake's a tough character," Raddysh said. "I think after I saw the replay of that, I thought, 'oh my god, that didn't look good.' Seeing him now, I think the doc helped him out pretty good there. It was a pretty bad cut. 

"But Jake's an unbelievable defenseman. He's played around for a long time, and he's made a great career. The way he plays, it just shows how tough he is, and he's probably not going to miss a game," Raddysh added.

William Nylander was very pleased to see McCabe doing fine after what happened, noting that the 33-year-old has been through knocks and pain often throughout his 14-year NHL career.

"Yeah, it's crazy, he said. "I mean, through the years, you've seen him go through a lot of things and battle through. See him back out there tonight or today in the morning, and hopefully ready to play tonight, makes you happy."

Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller couldn't say enough about what McCabe brings to the team. Before Toronto's game against Columbus, where McCabe exited the contest after 4:15 of ice time, he had averaged 20:10 of ice time, which ranks second among the team's defensemen.

"He's a pro's pro," Hiller said of McCabe. "He's just been in the league for a long time, and it's just all about winning for him, and it's whatever he can do. He can block shots, do whatever he has to do to help the team to win. You always really appreciate it when you come across a guy like that."

See more of The Hockey News on Google — Save us as Preferred Source

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.