Where would the Toronto Maple Leafs be without Jake McCabe?

Two seasons ago, the Maple Leafs acquired McCabe in a multi-player deal with the Chicago Blackhawks in an attempt to bolster their blueline. Hours before the trade, we argued here McCabe could end up being the prize of the deadline — a productive player reliably outperforming his peers on otherwise abysmal teams over the years.

For my money, he was one of the more undervalued players in the league, and one who could flourish in a better environment.

Fast forward to the present day, and the freshly extended McCabe feels critical to the success of this Maple Leafs team — and, notably, it’s a team that is winning just as many games on the defensive side of the ice as it is offensively this season.

When McCabe went down to an upper-body injury two weeks ago, you felt the loss of his presence on the blueline in a meaningful way, with the team losing three straight games. When he returned against the

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