Jake Muzzin signed a four-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. It has an average annual value of $5.625 million. Muzzin, a defenseman who could have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, has 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) in 52 games this season. He was out from Dec. 28-Jan. 27 with a broken foot.

Toronto - Feb. 25, 2020: Jake Muzzin signed a four-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. It has an average annual value of $5.625 million.

Muzzin, a defenseman who could have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, has 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) in 52 games this season. He was out from Dec. 28-Jan. 27 with a broken foot.

"Yes, we wanted to keep him around," Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas said. "The term was a byproduct of where he's at just turning 31 years old. ... Jake's importance, especially as things haven't gone well, is immense on the ice and off. It was very apparent when he was out of the lineup that we missed him deeply. That was the time where we started to come out of the stretch where we had been playing well. He adds a lot for us."

Muzzin was acquired by Toronto in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 28, 2019, for forward Carl Grundstrom, defenseman prospect Sean Durzi, and a first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft (Tobias Bjornfot).

Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fifth round (No. 141) of the 2007 NHL Draft, Muzzin has 251 points (61 goals, 190 assists) in 578 regular-season games with Los Angeles and Toronto. He has 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 57 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including winning the Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2014.

The Maple Leafs did not trade defenseman Tyson Barrie, who can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on Monday.

"There was nothing on the front burner," Dubas said. "The way things had gone, we started to get some interest in him and I thought it was good practice to listen and envision what the return would be. He's played very well, especially since the coaching change (from Mike Babcock to Sheldon Keefe on Nov. 20), we were totally fine with him running it out and continuing to grow as part of our group."

Dubas did not say where contract talks stand with Barrie.

"I don't have the answer right now other than to say we'll use the remaining time we have together to see if there was a fit," Dubas said. "With our [NHL salary cap situation], it's never so simple, I wish it were but it's not."

NHL.com independent correspondent Dave McCarthy contributed to this report