Joseph Woll will finally make his season debut when the Toronto Maple Leafs host the St. Louis Blues, Fraser Minten takes the morning skate and Max Pacioretty remains out with a lower-body injury. WINNIPEG — The Toronto Maple Leafs made it official on Monday, signing defenseman Jake McCabe to a five-year extension worth $23.5 million, structured with deferred money that brings the average annual value down to $4,513,354 per season. This move was first anticipated when reports broke last month of the Leafs' look to extend the defenseman beyond this season. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yeadUCbHUE[/embed] "It's really exciting for me and my family," McCabe shared Monday after the team's morning skate before their game against the Winnipeg Jets. "We've loved our time in Toronto thus far, and to be able to sign out for another five years is super exciting for us." While McCabe was hopeful about an extension with Toronto, reaching an agreement depended on finding terms that worked for both sides. "You obviously never know how sometimes negotiations go, but Brad (Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving) has been great the whole time and able to work something out here, and I think we're all very excited about it." Since joining the Leafs from the Chicago Blackhawks in February 2023, McCabe has established himself as a reliable part of the top-four defense group. At 31, he was also looking for a long-term arrangement. "Having a young family, stability was really important to me," McCabe said. "I didn't want to have my kids moving around a bunch later in my career to who knows what situation." Known for his strong defensive play and penalty-killing, McCabe has also contributed offensively, with nine goals and 27 assists over 103 games. "I think it's great. He's a team-first guy, a hard defender, hard to play against," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said about McCabe. "He's the type of D-man you want in your hockey team." With McCabe in the mix, other players on the Leafs are eligible to sign extensions, including forwards Mitch Marner, John Tavares and Matthew Knies. Many other players on one-year deals wouldn't be eligible to sign an extension until Jan 1, 2025 at the earliest.
