Acquired in a deal with teammate Sam Lafferty from the Chicago Blackhawks, the defenseman said the chance to play in the playoffs for the first time "is everything".
Acquired in a deal with teammate Sam Lafferty from the Chicago Blackhawks, the defenseman said the chance to play in the playoffs for the first time "is everything".
EDMONTON — After seven seasons of missing out on the NHL playoffs with a career split between the Buffalo Sabres and Chicago Blackhawks, Jake McCabe is finally expected to get that chance in April with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"It’s everything, really. That’s what this game’s all about," McCabe told reporters in his first comments since joining the Leafs. "Just to be able to have a chance to play in the playoffs is very important to me."
McCabe and forward Sam Lafferty took part in their first Leafs practice on Tuesday in Seattle, one day after Toronto acquired them in a deal along with a pair of conditional fifth-round draft picks in exchange for a conditional first-round draft pick in 2025, a second-round pick in 2026 and forwards Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev. McCabe and Lafferty arrived in Seattle around 5 p.m. pacific time. They were able to quickly bond with their new teammates by joining the team for a Bruce Springsteen concert happening in town.
"Honestly, it was the perfect setup," McCabe said. "To get in an environment like that and get to know the guys is perfect. Fun night."
When it was time to get to the task at hand, McCabe found himself on the second defense pair on the left side of TJ Brodie. The 6'1" 204-pounder was brought in to bring in a physical presence that could help the Leafs in their top four. He essentially is a direct replacement for Jake Muzzin, who was shut down for the remainder of the year and playoffs with a cervical spine issue.
While the Leafs have always had speed and puck movement as the goals, McCabe brings in a different dynamic. A shutdown player who intends to make things difficult for his opponent.
"I’m not going to change the way I play," McCabe insisted. "I’m just defense first, have good gaps out there, good skating. Make life miserable, make like hard on the other team's top players and do whatever it takes to win."
Toronto wouldn't have it any other way.
The Leafs have been trying to preach more of a defensive identity this season. While in previous years they have had the ability to run up the scoreboard against their opponents, many games this season have been low-scoring games. And while the Leafs have been a top-five team in the league in the regular season over the past five seasons, it's playoffs where they will be evaluated. They haven't won a playoff round since 2004.
McCabe's lack of playoff experience is of no concern to Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas, who referenced a player like Ron Hainsey who was in a similar situation until 2017 when he made his playoffs debut and helped play a key role in the team's Stanley Cup victory.
Auston Matthews played with McCabe at the 2016 World Juniors and saw how the defenseman handled pressure-packed situations.
"He’s going to give his all every game," Matthews said of McCabe. "A guy you want on your team and want to go to battle with. I’m really excited."
The 29-year-old will be a big part of Toronto's short-term future. The Blackhawks retained half of the defenseman's $4 million salary-cap hit and he is under contract until the 2024-25 season. But he is one of many players that were brought in to overhaul the current Maple Leafs.
Along with McCabe and Lafferty, the Leafs also brought in forwards Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues. On Tuesday, they added defensemen Erik Gustavsson from Washington and Luke Schenn from Vancouver Canucks. They surrendered a lot of draft picks to do it. And they parted ways with forward Pierre Engvall and defenseman Rasmus Sandin in addition to other prospects and players.
It's a lot of change in a short period of time. But it was deemed necessary if the Leafs were going to have any shot at changing their awful playoff history.
"It certainly does change the mix, but that’s why you want to prioritize character people," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "Every guy we’ve brought in is a guy that we got great confidence that when the temperature rises they are going to continue to push, continue to play, continue to be themselves."