Over the last three games, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube has tried to change things up by placing reliable defender Jake McCabe on the right side of Rielly in an effort to help ignite Rielly's offensive game. Has it worked?

“It can be the most random time in the summer and no matter what, you’ll see 'RR' pop up on your phone,” Nick Robertson said. Every group chat needs an instigator; someone to keep the dialogue alive during low points. On and off the ice, Reaves fills that role.

For Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine, it came in his rookie season with the Winnipeg Jets, courtesy of then-Buffalo Sabres defenseman and current Toronto Maple Leaf Jake McCabe. On Friday's latest episode of the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast with Ryan Whitney,

Jared Spurgeon and Marat Khusnutdinov scored in the first period, Filip Gustavsson stopped 31 shots, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1.

You can look to John Tavares and Matthew Knies’ imminent returns and hope they can spark the lineup, but this is still a team with Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner. Offence should not be this difficult and they have the raw talent to at least make games interesting. Tonight was far from it.

With speculation over who Toronto is going to bring in via a trade, the perfect player has emerged to help their blueline and find a new spot for Nick Robertson.

Category coverage in return from IR

Where would the Toronto Maple Leafs be without Jake McCabe? Two seasons ago, the Maple Leafs acquired McCabe in a multi-player deal with the Chicago Blackhawks in an attempt to bolster their blueline.

Morgan Rielly, who has spent much of the past month skating alongside Philippe Myers, found himself paired with Jake McCabe at the morning skate. As a result, Oliver Ekman-Larsson shifted up to ...

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe's stat line from Thursday's win over the New Jersey Devils shows just how much the team missed him while he was out.

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe (22) controls the puck against New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson (29) during the second period at Scotiabank Arena. (Credit: IMAGN) Toronto Maple ...

Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly has given his take on how the season has played out so far, and even among the negatives he's taking things in stride.