Dubas says Leafs aren't looking to pull a Lightning with Muzzin on LTIR

With the recent news that Jake Muzzin has been placed on long-term injured reserve, many have accused the Toronto Maple Leafs of «cheating» the salary cap, similar to what the Tampa Bay Lightning did last season.

For those unaware, the Lightning kept Nikita Kucherov on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) until the playoffs last season. Had they activated him beforehand, they would have been well over the league's maximum salary cap. However, a salary cap does not exist in the playoffs, so they were able to activate him once the postseason began without having to change their roster. Many believe the Leafs are doing the same thing with Muzzin, but their general manager in Kyle Dubas denied that notion today.

«It's not one of these things where we're going to try to wait and have him come back in the playoffs,» Dubas told reporters.

Whether or not that is the truth remains to be seen. There have been reports as of late that the Leafs are targeting J.T. Miller of the Vancouver Canucks, a player they would not have room for cap wise if Muzzin hadn't been moved to the LTIR. While these types of moves from teams' anger many, they are not doing anything wrong by league standards. Perhaps the NHL will look to address this situation in the near future by keeping the salary cap in place for the playoffs. Until they do, however, more teams may look to capitalize on this loophole moving forward.

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