The Toronto Maple Leafs have locked down one of their defencemen long-term.
On Monday morning, the Leafs extended Jake McCabe to a five-year, $22.5 million deal worth $4.51 million annually.
McCabe, 31, was selected in the second round by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2011-12 draft. The defenceman spent his first eight seasons with the team, scoring 18 goals and 77 points in 353 games. However, his tenure in Buffalo ended after he signed a four-year, $16 million deal with the Chicago Blackhawks in the summer of 2021.
The defenceman only spent parts of two seasons with the Blackhawks, scoring six goals and 42 points in 130 games, before McCabe was traded (along with Sam Lafferty and picks) to the Maple Leafs for a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 draft and a handful of other assets.
Since joining the Leafs, McCabe has spent parts of three seasons with them, scoring nine goals and 36 points in 103 games. He played his first playoff game in 2023, picking up a goal and two assists in 18 postseason games.

Aleksander Barkov returns to Florida’s lineup

Another team in the Atlantic Division is getting their captain back, as Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice announced on Monday that Aleksander Barkov is returning to the lineup.
The Finnish centre crashed hard into the boards at the end of the Panthers’ game against the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 10 and has missed the past two and a half weeks. However, the defending Stanley Cup champions haven’t suffered, as they are 6-3-1 this season, good enough to be tied for the fourth-most points in the National Hockey League.
As for Barkov, the 29-year-old is coming off a season where he scored 23 goals and 80 points in 73 games, winning the Frank K. Selke Trophy. In the postseason, he scored eight goals and 22 points in 24 games, helping the franchise to their first Stanley Cup.

Shane Pinto is out week-to-week

On Sunday morning, Ottawa Senators head coach Travis Green announced that forward Shane Pinto is out week-to-week.
The injury and the cause are unknown, but the 23-year-old right-shot centre scored a goal and three points in six games so far this season. After missing half of the 2023-24 season due to a gambling suspension, he potted nine goals and 27 points in 41 games. Pinto’s career-best year came in 2022-23, when he scored 20 goals and 35 points in 82 games.
As for the Senators, they currently sit at the bottom of the Atlantic Division with a 4-4-0 record with eight points. It’s worth noting that the Tampa Bay Lightning have 10 points, while the Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Montréal Canadiens, and Boston Bruins all have nine points in what is a competitive division this season.
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