The Toronto Maple Leafs were forced into a busy reshuffle on Sunday, and the biggest names involved were Chris Tanev and Morgan Rielly.
Tanev was held out as part of what the team described as planned maintenance, not because of a fresh injury. The Leafs said their performance staff is managing his workload as part of the recovery path from the upper-body injury that had already cost him nine games earlier this season. With Tanev’s injury history in mind, Toronto is being careful about when it gives him recovery days after heavy stretches.
Rielly, meanwhile, remains under evaluation after sustaining a lower-body injury. The Leafs did not place him on injured reserve, which would have forced him out for at least a week, and that decision suggests the club still sees his status as fluid. Toronto said it will have another update on him before Tuesday’s game.
Those two situations helped drive a day of roster movement ahead of the matchup with the New Jersey Devils. The Leafs first sent Vinni Lettieri down and recalled Cole McWard, a move that lined up with Rielly’s absence on paper. But McWard is needed in the lineup, and he will make his Maple Leafs debut against the Devils.
There was also another wrinkle up front. Toronto had a game-time decision involving an undisclosed forward, which appears to be why the club brought Lettieri back up and sent Artur Akhtyamov down after originally planning to give Sergei Bobrovsky a full night off. Instead, Bobrovsky will back up Anthony Stolarz against New Jersey.
The end result leaves Toronto trying to navigate a skilled Devils team without Rielly and Tanev in the lineup. With no fixed timelines attached to the injuries the team is dealing with, the Leafs are making short-term adjustments and waiting on more clarity as they move toward Tuesday.
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Maple Leafs Loss To Montreal Came With An Even Bigger Concern
The Maple Leafs left Montreal with more than a loss to sort through after a 4-2 defeat that featured a strong night from the Canadiens and an unwelcome injury scare for Toronto. Alex Newhook drove the offense for Montreal, Zachary Bolduc added a power-play goal and Jacob Fowler turned aside 26 shots as the Canadiens controlled enough of the game to hand Toronto another frustrating result.
Morgan Riellys exit in the second period with a lower-body injury quickly became the bigger concern for the Leafs, especially with the team already trying to steady itself after the loss. Toronto will want clarity on Riellys status soon, because the blue line takes on a different look when one of its most important defensemen is forced out early. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs Loss To Montreal Brought One Big Concern Into Focus
The Maple Leafs came out of a 4-2 loss to Montreal with more than just two points left on the table, as Jim Hillers postgame update centered on Morgan Riellys injury status and the lack of any fresh information beyond the fact that it remains a serious concern. Hiller also touched on the broader picture, pointing to the teams effort and game management while trying to sort through a night that exposed a few different issues at once.
There was at least one bright spot in John Tavares return, which Hiller said had a positive effect on William Nylanders play, but the mood around the room was still shaped by the injuries and mistakes that piled up. Hiller also addressed Gavin McKennas turnovers as part of the conversation, a reminder that Torontos margin for error is getting thinner as it tries to steady itself after another uneven outing. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Face One Huge Question As Superstar Fit Emerges
A fan-driven trade idea making the rounds this week put Toronto in the middle of another big-name defense discussion, and the reaction was about as lopsided as it gets. The proposed deal would have brought Detroits Simon Edvinsson into the Maple Leafs orbit, but voters overwhelmingly shot it down, with 92% disapproving the concept.
The interest in Edvinsson still says something about where Torontos attention is right now, especially with the market for impact players never far from the conversation. Even as other teams sort out their own lineup situations, the Leafs are left weighing whether a move like that ever makes sense for their roster, cap picture and long-term blue-line plans, which is exactly why this kind of chatter keeps hanging around. [Read more 🡒]