The future of Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe appears to be heading towards a resolution, according to Elliotte Friedman.

In February of 2023, just ahead of the trade deadline, Kyle Dubas and the Maple Leafs acquired the now 30-year-old defenseman from the Chicago Blackhawks along with Sam Lafferty and conditional fifth-round picks in 2024 and 2025. The trade saw the Leafs get the reliable defensive defenseman for $2M per season as the Hawks retained 50-percent of his $4M cap hit in exchange for 2025 conditional first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick, Joey Anderson, and Pavel Gogolev.

McCabe is entering the final season of his contract and has been eligible to sign an extension since July 1st. On Friday’s epsiode of “32 Thoughts,” Elliotte Friedman revealed the latest surrounding a potential extension.

“I believe they have had some conversation with Jake McCabe about extending him.”

McCabe is coming off what many consider to be his best season and was undoubtedly their best defenseman for long stretches when injuries and suspensions ravaged the blueline.

Since being acquired by Toronto, McCabe has become a fan favourite thanks to his willingness to sacrifice his body in the defensive zone and not being afraid to throw some massive hits as noted by his 219 recorded hits last season. In 94 games with the Leafs, McCabe has scored 9 goals and tallied 34 points while averaging just over 20 minutes of ice-time per game.