The Toronto Maple Leafs are juggling injuries and lineup shuffles as they prepare to host the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, with several key updates coming out of practice.
Forward Colton Sissons is out week-to-week after getting hurt in Sunday’s shutout loss to the New Jersey Devils. The 33-year-old has chipped in two goals and four assists across 19 games this season, his first with the Leafs after signing a two-year, $8.5 million deal carrying a $4.25 million average annual value over the summer.
Defenceman Morgan Rielly is also dealing with a lower-body injury and is considered day-to-day. The 32-year-old missed Sunday’s game after getting hurt the night before in a loss to the Montreal Canadiens. He has 12 assists in 18 games this season, his 14th with Toronto.
Winger Kirill Marchenko remains week-to-week as he continues to recover from a lower-body injury that has kept him out since Oct. 26. Before getting hurt, the 26-year-old had six goals and eight assists in 14 games.
There was at least one encouraging sign on the ice Tuesday morning: Jack Roslovic skated after missing Sunday’s game with a lower-body injury. The 29-year-old has been one of Toronto’s more productive players in his first season with the club, posting eight goals and 10 assists in 18 games while skating alongside fellow American Auston Matthews. Roslovic is on a two-year, $8 million contract with a $4 million average annual value.
Toronto also made a roster move Tuesday, recalling Ryan Tverberg from the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies and sending Vinni Lettieri down. Tverberg, 24, has four goals and three assists in 14 games in the minors this season. Drafted by the Leafs in the seventh round in 2020, he already has two NHL games on his résumé from last season, though he didn’t record a point.
Practice lines had Sergei Bobrovsky in the starter’s net for Tuesday’s game.
The projected forward groups had Cowan with Matthews and Roslovic, Tverberg centering Tavares and Nylander, Joshua between Paul and McKenna, and Duhaime with Blueger and MacEwen. On the blue line, McCabe was paired with Raddysh, Ekman-Larsson with Tanev, and Mermis with Stecher, with McWard also listed.
Toronto comes in having lost five of its last six, including all three games on its current six-game homestand, and all of those defeats came in regulation. After the Avalanche, the Leafs will stay home to face the Minnesota Wild on Thursday and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. They’re 8-9-2 and sitting second last in the Atlantic Division.
In Other News...
Connor Murphy Is Giving The Oilers Something They Desperately Need
Connor Murphy has carved out a very specific job for the Oilers this season, and it is the kind of role that does not always show up neatly in the numbers. Through the 2026-27 campaign, he has been leaned on for a physical, defense-first presence, taking tough defensive-zone assignments and giving Edmonton a steadier edge around its own net. Even with the traditional and advanced stats not exactly jumping off the page, his value has been tied to the little things that matter in tight games.
Recent matchups with the Canucks and Rangers offered a reminder of why the Oilers keep finding ways to use him. Murphys shot-blocking, willingness to clear traffic and general grit have stood out in moments when Edmonton needed a stop more than a highlight. It is the kind of impact analytics can struggle to fully capture, but the coaching staff and teammates can see it every night, and that sort of reliability is becoming increasingly important as the games get heavier. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Fans Just Earned A Wild Online Reputation
A new social-media study has given Oilers fans an unexpected kind of bragging right, even if it is the sort that comes with a raised eyebrow. Action Network looked at more than 9.7 million Reddit comments across 205 professional sports team communities in 2026, measuring how often fans used profanity, and Edmonton came out on top in a field that stretched across multiple major leagues.
The results put the Oilers crowd in some familiar company, with other passionate fan bases from around the sports world showing up near the top as well. At the other end of the spectrum, the St. Louis Cardinals were identified as the most polite fan base, a reminder that not every online home for a team is built on the same level of intensity. [Read more 🡒]
Jake DeBrusk Trade Buzz Puts Canucks Fans On Reset Watch
The Canucks willingness to listen on veterans has added another name to the rumor mill, and Jake DeBrusk has quickly become one of the more interesting ones for Oilers observers to track. He has been open to the idea of a change of scenery, even if he has not asked out, which is enough to keep his situation on the radar in a market that is always looking for ways to sharpen the top six.
From Edmontons side, the appeal is easy to see. DeBrusk brings the kind of scoring touch and versatility that can fit into a contenders lineup, but the fit is not simple, and any conversation would have to account for his contract and how he would be used. For now, there have been no confirmed talks between the two clubs, which leaves this as more of a watch-list item than a deal in motion. [Read more 🡒]