Maple Leafs depth defenseman Marshall Rifai will miss some significant time after sustaining a wrist injury in last night’s exhibition win over the Canadiens. Head coach Craig Berube told reporters today, including Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun, that he requires surgery with no specific return timeline.
Speculatively, it’s a right wrist issue for Rifai. He was held out for the second and third periods of the game and took a hard hit into the glass from Montreal forward Joshua Roy midway through the first (video via Michael Mazzei of The Leafs Nation).
Rifai only had a slim chance at breaking camp with Toronto, which has avoided any other notable injuries on defense, but that’s now gone. Their top six group is set in stone, which meant Rifai was in competition with more experienced names like Henry Thrun, Philippe Myers, and Dakota Mermis for a press-box role. All of those three are waiver-eligible, and at least one – likely two – will need to hit the wire with a surplus of NHL forwards on the Leafs’ roster. With them only expected to carry one extra blueliner, the odds were far from being in Rifai’s favor.
Nonetheless, he’s a depth talent the organization likes to have around. The 27-year-old was an undrafted free agent signed out of Harvard in 2022 and has been a frequent standout in training camp, although he only has two regular-season appearances to his name, coming back in 2023-24. He was recalled a handful of times last season but never got into game action. He’s beginning a two-year, league-minimum, one-way extension that he signed at the beginning of last season, so he’s at least in line for an NHL-caliber payday despite most of his playing action coming in the minors.
Since he’s signed to a one-way deal, the 6’2″ lefty is not SOIR/non-roster eligible. He’ll need to begin the year on regular injured reserve, meaning his $775K cap hit will count against the Leafs’ books unless he misses enough time (10 games/24 days) to be eligible for long-term injured reserve. After being cleared to play, he can then be placed on waivers and reassigned to AHL Toronto if he clears.