Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving has made a big decision regarding the future of the team. The Leafs and defenceman Jake McCabe have agreed to a contract extension. His deal will come into play on July 1, 2025. It’s a five-year contract, and McCabe will be earning $4.51 million across those seasons.
Jake McCabe 5 x $4.51 with Toronto
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 28, 2024
McCabe Signs Five-year Contract
The more games McCabe plays in a Leafs sweater, the more the fans love him. Even though he’s been in Toronto for one full season, McCabe has played his way into being a fan favourite. He arrived in Toronto one week before the 2023 trade deadline. Former general manager Kyle Dubas acquired him in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. Since then, it’s been rare for him to have a bad game.
McCabe has a lot of defensive qualities. One that stands out the most is his physical play. Every now and then, McCabe will throw a huge hit that’ll get the crowd and Leafs bench energized. However, while those come every little while, playing aggressively is something that he does on a nightly basis. Also, he’s never afraid to drop the mitts when he feels the time is right. This is a player that Leaf fans have been screaming for over the last decade.
What Does This Mean to the Leafs’ Defence?
Ahead of the 2024-25 season, Treliving made multiple additions and tweaks to the backend. He’s improved the defence compared to what it was in the previous season. Now that McCabe has a new contract, a lot of the defencemen on the Maple Leafs are locked down. Treliving signed Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jani Hakanpaa. Hakanpaa was only signed to a one-year deal because he had a knee injury that left uncertainty to Leafs management.
However, Tanev and Ekman-Larsson both signed long-term deals. Tanev was signed to a six-year contract, and Ekman-Larsson was signed to a four-year contract. On top of that, Morgan Rielly will still be under contract until 2030, and he’ll be 36 years old. This means that this D-corps will be in it for the long haul.
