Toronto Maple Leafs’ Jake Muzzin out indefinitely with spine injury; T.J. Brodie on IR

The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that defenseman Jake Muzzin is out indefinitely with a cervical spine injury and will be re-evaluated in late February.

Muzzin hasn’t played since Oct. 17 against Arizona, where he was forced to leave the game after 9:54 of ice time. He had one assist in four games before the injury.

Muzzin has been plagued with injury issues during his career. He was out three times with concussion issues last year and missed the start of training camp with a nagging back injury. Muzzin played in 47 regular season games and the entire seven-game playoff run with the Leafs last year. Muzzin has one more year after this on his contract with a $5.625 million AAV, so having him on long-term injured reserve is a notable cap relief for Toronto.

The team also announced that defenseman TJ Brodie has been placed on injured reserve with an oblique injury. Brodie was a game-time decision on Saturday against Vancouver but was ruled out after warmups, with Jordie Benn taking his spot in the lineup. When healthy, Brodie has spent time on the top pairing with Justin Holl, giving the pair a bit of stability.

The Leafs subsequently called up forward Pontus Holmberg and defenseman Mac Hollowell from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Holmberg made his NHL debut against the Philadelphia Flyers earlier this month, registering two shots in 10:01 of ice time. Hollowell has been with the Marlies since 2019 but has yet to play an NHL game. He’ll likely just serve as an extra defenseman for now, but after recording nine assists in nine games, this could be the perfect time to give him a shot for a night.