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Hockey is a physical game, and with that, players often deal with injuries. However, some are more serious than others, and several Toronto Maple Leafs players have had their careers cut short by them.
Ahead of the 2024-25 NHL season, here are three Maple Leafs players whose careers were cut short due to injuries.
3 Toronto Maple Leafs stars whose careers ended due to injuries
#1. Jake Muzzin
Jake Muzzin is just 35 and was still playing effective hockey, but he had to retire due to injuries.
Muzzin last played in the NHL during the 2022-23 season, but he only suited up in four games. The defenseman suffered two concussions within a month during the 2021-22 season, and then the next year, he had a spine injury that forced him to retire.
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With Muzzin no longer playing hockey, he was hired by the Maple Leafs as a professional scout.
#2. Joffrey Lupul
Joffrey Lupul was a key player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but his career ended during the 2015-16 season due to injuries.
Lupul dealt with injuries throughout his career, which limited his playing career. In 2015 he had missed roughly 40% of games in the past four years due to injuries, and at the end of the 2016 season, despite having two more years on his contract, his career was over.
Lupul ended up playing in 701 NHL games over 11 seasons.
#3. Ian Scott
Despite Ian Scott never playing an NHL game, he falls on the list due to the hype around him.
Scott was one of the top goalie prospects in the NHL, but he was forced to retire at age 23. The talented netminder was drafted ahead of Jeremy Swayman, as he was expected to be a starting goalie for years.
"No athlete wants to make this kind of post but I have decided to step away from playing hockey," Scott said on Instagram in 2022. "Over the past few years I’ve been battling injuries and working hard to get back to full playable health but unfortunately I have decided to take a step back & start a new life chapter."
Scott ended up playing in just two AHL games.
