NHL Training Camp Blog: Muzzin's back injury, Kane talks trade, and more

With the Maple Leafs running out a high risk goaltending duo of Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov, it's more important than ever for the defence in front of them to be strong. And, on paper, this year's Toronto blue line is the best it's been in Kyle Dubas' tenure...when healthy.

So it was at least a little disturbing to Leafs Nation when it was revealed on Thursday that Jake Muzzin would miss the start of training camp with a back injury. Muzzin, who missed time with a concussion last season and has played 100 of a possible 164 regular season games over the past two years, is an important bounce back player for Toronto this season. His pairing with Justin Holl sagged last season as both struggled, so getting Muzzin back to his expected form is crucial for this team.

Right now the expectation is that Muzzin will return to the ice next week. So is Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe concerned at all?

"I wouldn’t say concern, considering it’s nothing related to the things that have been on the front burner in terms of monitoring for him," Keefe said. "It’s just the last little bit he’s had some discomfort in his back and ultimately we decided that, with today being the hardest day of the year, it was a good time to give him some additional time away. So we'll evaluate him after a week and see where things settle.”

From here until the trade deadline (or perhaps earlier if a move is made) the futures of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane will be the biggest on-ice story to unfold in Chicago. The two long-time leaders and Cup-winning all-stars of this team enter the last year of their $10.5 million AAV contracts this season, as the Blackhawks enter a rebuild.

On Wednesday, Hawks GM Kyle Davidson said neither player had asked to be traded, and that the team wasn't engaging in trade talks involving either. On Thursday, the players spoke for the first time upon returning for training camp.

“To be honest with you, there really hasn’t been like much discussion about anything, even with my agent or my agents or my family,” Kane said, per The Athletic. “It’s not anything we’ve really discussed. I think we all know the situation — I play and what could potentially happen, but it’s not really something I’m thinking about as yet. So we’ll just kind of see how everything plays out and hopefully we can get off to a good start here, prove some people wrong.”

Before Alex DeBrincat was traded in the summer, Kane had spoken about his potential willingness to stick through a rebuild if it still involved him playing next to the young 40-goal man. But with DeBrincat sent off to Ottawa, we were left to wonder if Kane's calculation had changed.

“It kind of crushing at first when you hear the news. Not only did I feel like we had some great chemistry on the ice, but he was one of my best friends and closest teammates off the ice as well,” Kane said on Thursday.

Kane said that, as far as he knew, all off-season Internet discussions about his potential trade candidacy were not factual and based on rumours as folks were seeking to drum up off-season debates.

Still, unlike Toews who hasn't been himself in a couple of years, Kane is still one of the top offensive players in the game and would surely help put a team over the top. The most difficult part of any trade would be how a new team would fit in his cap hit. Elliotte Friedman suggested on the JD Bunkis Podcast that a three-way deal may need to occur, with another non-playoff team assuming some retained money.

For now, it's all speculation. But it surely will only pick up steam if the Hawks get off to a slow start, and quickly fade from the playoff picture.

"There’s very few players that end up playing their whole career with one team, right?” Kane said. “You see guys like (Sidney) Crosby and (Evgeni) Malkin or (Alex) Ovechkin, they’ll probably finish their careers with the one team. But you see a lot of players now, they’re kind of moving all over the place. So like I said before, it’s not really something I’ve thought of or anything I’m thinking about right now. Maybe it’s getting attention because of the situation that people might think we’re in as a team or because of our contracts. It’s just a lot of noise right now.”

That's what they're asking on the island these days, especially after the big summer RFA deals around the league. Still pending in that regard is Dallas' Nick Robertson, a 40-goal scorer who is still not at camp and doesn't have a deal in place for 2022-23.

Barzal has already signed his first post-ELC deal, a three-year bridge contract that paid $7 million against the cap. That contract now has one season left, with Barzal slated to become an RFA again in the summer of 2023. At that point, he'd be one year away from being UFA eligible, so it's a similar position to what we saw Matthew Tkachuk and Patrik Laine in last season. Laine signed an extension with Columbus, while Tkachuk was traded after he communicated his desire to move on.

So what will happen with Barzal? The team is still looking for the best, consistent wingers to play with him, and that is a major storyline for the team this year. Barzal scored 15 goals and 59 points last season, and he still hasn't been able to come close to replicating his 85-point season in 2017-18 -- his first full season in the league.

Barzal's value is one question to figure out, but we also would have to wonder about his appetite to stay in New York. On that note, at least, it was promising to hear Barzal say he'd like to stay, and that the start of a new season didn't have to mean the end of contract extension talks.

We can't look too much into the lines we see on Day 1 of camps across the league, but they are an interesting starting point for discussion. Below, you'll have a first look at Calgary's lineup formation. Up front, the interesting note is Sonny Milano on the second line with Nazem Kadri and Cody Eakin (likely a placeholder for the injured Andrew Mangiapane).

Milano is in Calgary on a PTO after scoring 14 goals and 34 points in Anaheim last season, where he became a regular linemate of Trevor Zegras. Milano was the 16th overall pick in the 2014 draft and has great offensive instincts, but his two-way game is a little incomplete.

If he were to make this team, optimally it'd be as a top-six player because he doesn't tend to fit the mould of a third-line player (though, we should note, it's not negative to have an offensive player there as the game has changed). Can the 26-year-old show enough to stick in this spot through camp? Will he get these looks in pre-season games?

Calgary's depth is improved this season and, if Milano can find his way on to the team, it'd get a little bit better. He could wind up as one of the great late value adds -- and we're following the likes of Zach Aston-Reese and Evan Rodrigues for the same reason.

The most surprising free agent signing of the off-season, the Johnny Gaudreau era has officially begun in Columbus. The winger signed a seven-year, $68.25 million deal with Columbus, after he scored 115 points for the Calgary Flames last season.

Gaudreau figures to join sniper Patrik Laine on the top line and one of the key training camp battles in Columbus is for the centre job between them. All indications are that Boone Jenner is getting the first opportunity.