The Toronto Maple Leafs are making a small tweak for Wednesday night’s meeting with the New York Islanders, and Jim Hiller isn’t hiding the biggest part of it: Bo Groulx is going in.
After morning skate, Hiller said the 26-year-old forward will dress against the Islanders in the second game of the season-opening back-to-back. He stopped short of naming the player coming out, so that answer will have to wait until closer to puck drop.
Anthony Stolarz starts against the Islanders @TSN_Sports
- Mark Masters (@markhmasters) September 30, 2026
The change looks likely to come from the bottom six, and more specifically from Toronto’s fourth line. Groulx is not being added to play a top-nine role, so the most likely shake-up is among the group that opened the season against Montreal.
Zack MacEwen stands out as one possible scratch. He brought some physical edge in the 3-2 loss to the Canadiens, but his game is more about force than offense or defensive control. Groulx doesn’t bring the same kind of muscle, but he could help that line spend more time with the puck.
Brandon Duhaime is another name that fits the conversation. He skated well and got involved in a couple of scrums, but the line never really found its rhythm. That’s not exactly a shock when three new Leafs are trying to mesh for the first time in Game 1, and Groulx at least brings some familiarity to the mix.
The numbers from Tuesday underline how little that unit had going. The fourth line of Duhaime, MacEwen and Teddy Blueger played just 3:45 together, allowed three shot attempts against and generated none for Toronto.
Groulx probably won’t suddenly turn that into a heavy-usage line, but he may give the Leafs a little more stability and a bit more puck management than whoever comes out.
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