Mentor, uncle and coach: Injured Jake Muzzin has carved unique role with Maple Leafs

His role? Well, fellow blueliner Morgan Rielly says it’s part mentor, part uncle, part coach, part confidante.

“He’s a presence and a voice,” Rielly says. “He’s a guy that’s very important to our team … he has a lot of close friendships within our team. So I think it’s good just having him around on road trips or at home at practice days. Having him around can be important for us.”

It’s one thing for an injured player close to returning to the lineup to accompany a team on a trip, but it’s unusual for players with long-term injuries to do so. Coaches historically don’t like the distraction of what amounts to a non-roster player in the room.

But Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe doesn’t see the world as quite that black and white. Muzzin has been a fixture in the press box on some of the team’s longer trips.

“(Keefe’s) smart,” Giordano says. “I think he understands how much of a presence Muzzin is and how much he means to our team.”

Giordano went through something similar in Calgary. Giordano probably meant as much to the Flames then as Muzzin does to the Leafs, and when he was hurt his coach allowed him to travel with the Flames, keeping his own spirits up.

“It went a long way for me to be around the team and be there, and feel like you’re still part of it. So I’m sure it’s the same for Muzzin.”

The 34-year-old Muzzin has been a Leaf since a Jan. 28, 2019 trade with the Los Angeles Kings, with whom he won the Stanley Cup twice. General manager Kyle Dubas wanted the defenceman for his rugged skill set and, equally important, the leadership and intangibles.

“He’s got a good perspective, obviously playing for some pretty good teams earlier in his career,” Rielly says. “So whatever he can bring to the team, he’s willing to and he wants to.”

Injuries have sidelined Muzzin at the worst possible times, including the 2020 and 2021 playoffs. The latest one — a broken vertebrae in his neck — combined with a similar injury earlier in his career and a couple of concussions might mean the end of his playing days, although the team said it would provide an update in September.

“You’re always holding out hope that things might settle for him,” Keefe says, “But I knew (coming back this season) was probably going to be a real long shot. All that said, he has been in the (practice) facility every day that we’ve been here. He’s at every game. He’s made most of the road trips. And it really just speaks to his character to continue to be a part of it, to do all that he can to help the team while not playing, while also still pushing himself.

“Our players love having him around, enjoy his personality, his friendship and his leadership and his perspective on things. Now it’s a different perspective, not being in uniform every day. Yet he still has connections to our team. He knows how we play and ultimately what the expectations are. He’s got great bonds with our players, he’s an integral piece of our leadership group and that won’t change.

“We’ll get everything we can out of him that way ... He wants to win as bad as anyone.”