LOS ANGELES (AP) The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired defenseman Jake Muzzin from the Los Angeles Kings for a first-round pick and two prospects.
Los Angeles gets forward Carl Grundstrom and the rights to unsigned defenseman Sean Durzi in the deal along with a 2019 first-rounder. The teams announced the trade Monday night, four weeks before the trade deadline.
Muzzin gives the Maple Leafs a top-four defenseman who is signed through next season at a salary-cap hit of $4 million. The blue line has been Toronto’s biggest weakness this season, and Muzzin could fit on the top pairing alongside Morgan Rielly.
The 29-year-old Muzzin has four goals and 17 assists in 50 games this season. Kings general manager Rob Blake says the trade was necessary for the future of the organization and that it wasn’t easy to trade such a key player as Muzzin.
Grundstrom, 21, was a second-round pick in 2016 and has 29 points in 42 games in the American Hockey League this season. Durzi, 20, was a second-round pick last year and has 28 points in 26 games this season in the Ontario Hockey League.
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