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Connor Dewar

Penguins Sign Connor Dewar, Philip Tomasino

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After opting not to issue them a qualifying offer yesterday, the Penguins have brought back forwards Connor Dewar and Philip Tomasino on one-year deals, the club announced. Dewar lands a $1.1MM commitment, while Tomasino will earn $1.75MM.

With very few guaranteed roster spots, it made sense for the Penguins to re-sign Dewar and Tomasino. Both players were acquired at different points last season and are young enough to be considered consistent options in Pittsburgh.

Already 26 years old, Dewar is a bottom-six forward through and through. He has played for three different organizations over three seasons, accumulating 21 goals and 47 points in 203 games, along with a -16 rating while with the Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Penguins. He’s spent some time down the middle, but he’s better used on the wing.

Similarly, Pittsburgh acquired Tomasino last season, hoping to get some value from the former 24th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft. He played fairly well for the Penguins after coming over from the Nashville Predators, scoring 11 goals and 23 points in 50 games, averaging 13:27 of ice time.

Tomasino’s offensive talents are well known at this point, but without his defensive capabilities improving, it’s challenging for the Penguins to give him increased opportunity. At any rate, given they haven’t qualified for the postseason in two years, and not being expected to in 2025-26, Pittsburgh quite literally has nothing to lose but giving Tomasino a shot at top-six minutes and see if he can live up to his draft billing and the talents that made him such a prized prospect to begin with.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report Dewar was returning to Pittsburgh.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article. 

Maple Leafs Acquire Brandon Carlo In Three-Team Trade With Bruins, Penguins

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7:15 PM: The Bruins announced their portion of the trade, confirming that they received Minten, a 2026 first-round pick (top-five protected), and a 2025 fourth-round selection for Carlo.

2:11 PM: The Maple Leafs have acquired defenseman Brandon Carlo from the Bruins, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports. The Leafs are sending center prospect Fraser Minten to the Bruins, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff adds it’s a three-team deal with the Penguins, who are receiving defenseman Conor Timmins and forward Connor Dewar from Toronto. The Leafs are sending a first-round pick to Boston in the deal as well, per Seravalli. Pittsburgh is sending a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Leafs in exchange for Timmins and Dewar, per the Maple Leafs. Additionally, Boston has retained 15 percent of Carlo’s $4.1MM salary, shares Joshua Kloke of The Athletic.

Through the mix of a three-team deal and hurdles over the cap space, Toronto lands an impactful shutdown defenseman in Carlo. He’s six-foot-five, 220 pounds and offers an invaluable right-hand shot. Those traits helped Carlo stamp out a daily lineup role almost immediately upon entering the league in 2016-17. Boston drafted Carlo in the second-round of the 2015 NHL Draft and promoted him to the pros at the end of the following season. He recorded just one assist in his first seven AHL games, but performed well enough at Boston’s following training camp to ditch the minor leagues entirely.

Carlo made the Bruins roster out of camp in the 2016-17 season. The team attempted to ease him into a lineup role, but one assist and a plus-five in 17 minutes of his NHL debut quickly showed Carlo’s impact would translate to the top flight. He was playing upwards of 24 minutes a night in just his third NHL game – and hung on to a top-pair role next to Bruins legend Zdeno Chara for the rest of his rookie season. Carlo managed 16 points, 59 penalty minutes, and a plus-nine while playing in all 82 games of his rookie year.

The top-pair conditioning continued to pay off through the next three seasons. Carlo never posted much scoring – netting his career-high of 19 points in 2019-20 – but he continued to average at least 20 minutes of ice time, on the pack of an imposing defensive presence. His role has dwindled in the years since, but his impact remains impressively consistent. Even through this season, the 28-year-old Carlo has managed nine points, 24 PIMs, and a plus-two in 63 games.

Toronto could confidently turn towards Carlo for top-pair minutes for the remainder of the season. He’ll be a shining replacement for the injured Chris Tanev, who Toronto placed on injured reserve on March 2nd. When Tanev returns, Toronto will boast a pair of high-impact, low-scoring defensive-defenseman on the right side – complimenting the more offensively-geared Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the left.

Carlo is notably signed through the end of the 2026-27 season at a manageable $3.485MM cap hit after Boston’s retention.

While the Leafs sort of their sudden heap of defensive talent, Boston will relish in the addition of a clear top prospect in Fraser Minten. Minten made the Maple Leafs roster out of camp to start the season, and recorded four points – split evenly – across the first 15 games of his NHL career.

Minten was assigned to the AHL to start the season but quickly made Toronto second-guess their decision. He was called up to the NHL in mid-November after posting four points in five games to start the AHL season. Minten continued the hot scoring into his first taste of NHL action, netting four points across his first five NHL games of the season. His scoring dried up after that – with no scoring in his last 10 NHL games – but Minten has stayed productive in the minor leagues, where he has 13 points in 26 games.

This is Minten’s first season of professional hockey. He spent the last four seasons with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers and, briefly, Saskatoon Blades. Minten totaled 188 points in 187 career games in the WHL, including 55 points in 67 games of the 2021-22 campaign. That was enough to earn him a second-round selection in the 2022 NHL Draft – a divisive pick at the time. Minten also earned the honor of captaining Team Canada at the 2024 World Junior Championships, where he scored three points in five games. It was his first time representing Canada internationally.

Minten is still working on figuring out his pro footing but he’ll offer tantalizing upside once he’s level. He’s an impactful two-way centerman who is strong on the faceoff dot and smart with his positioning. Those traits could be tailor-made for a Bruins organization that’s already developed Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle into strong, top-six options.

The deal is rounded out by Toronto sending depth skaters Dewar and Timmins to the Penguins as a cap dump. That addition frees up $2.28MM in cap space for the Leafs, which will effectively be their only cap space for the remainder of the year. Both Dewar and Timmins could find a path to routine minutes for Pittsburgh, where they’ll play under former Leafs GM Kyle Dubas.

Dewar has served as Toronto’s fourth-line center for much of the year but has been fairly low-event. He has just three assists, five penalty minutes, and a minus-three through 31 appearances. That’s a far step down from the 19 points, 28 PIMs, and minus-eight he totaled in 74 games last season, split between time with the Minnesota Wild and Maple Leafs. He’s found a groove as a gritty, hard-nosed bottom-line option – which should fit right in with the makeup of Pittsburgh’s current fourth line. Dewar will challenge Blake Lizotte for routine ice time, but could be pushed to the flanks to challenge Bokondji Imama or Noel Acciari should Pittsburgh prefer to keep Lizotte in.

Timmins has landed in a similar rut. He’s been a bottom-pair option for the Leafs, with eight points, 24 PIMs, and a plus-two in 51 games this season. That is also a downtick in scoring form the 10 points Timmins managed in 25 games last year, and the 14 points he posted in 25 games of 2022-23. Pittsburgh has been searching for more defense depth after trading away Marcus Pettersson. Timmins could find a way into the vacant role, though he’ll first compete with Ryan Graves and newcomer Vladislav Kolyachonok for minutes.

Both Dewar and Timmins are set to enter restricted free agency this summer.

Toronto Maple Leafs Activate Connor Dewar, Place Chris Tanev On IR

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According to a team announcement, the Toronto Maple Leafs have activated forward Connor Dewar from the injured reserve and have placed defenseman Chris Tanev on it. Tanev’s placement is retroactive to February 25th, meaning Toronto needs to wait a few more days before activating him.

Dewar, the second-year Maple Leaf, has spent much of the year on the team’s injured reserve. He missed the first month of the season due to offseason surgery for a torn labrum and the last month due to an upper-body issue. The career bottom-six center has tallied three assists in 29 games for Toronto this year, averaging 10:07 of ice time per game.

Considering he had more points in fewer games for the Maple Leafs after they acquired him from the Minnesota Wild at last year’s deadline, they were likely hoping for more from Dewar when they gave him a $380K raise this past summer. Still, the injuries have understandably precluded Dewar from getting his season on track, and a healthy finish to the year should prove beneficial.

Meanwhile, Tanev has already missed last Friday’s game against the New York Rangers and today’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins due to an upper-body injury. Toronto feared the worst when Tanev was seen wearing a sling after exiting last Tuesday’s loss to the Boston Bruins. However, David Alter of The Hockey News shared that the Maple Leafs had avoided the worst with Tanev’s injury, and his recovery timeline was considered day-to-day.

Given the rules regarding activating a player from the injured reserve, Tanev must miss tomorrow’s game against the San Jose Sharks. Should he be healthy enough to return, the gritty top-four defenseman can return on Wednesday when Toronto matches up against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Injury Updates: Lowry, Heineman, Blue Jackets, Maple Leafs

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The Jets will have their captain back in the lineup tonight versus St. Louis as the team announced (Twitter link) that Adam Lowry will return after missing the last three-plus weeks with an upper-body injury.  The 31-year-old was on pace for a career year offensively before being sidelined after collecting 11 goals and 15 assists in his first 48 outings while averaging 15:24 per night of ice time.  He’s likely to return to the middle-six role he held before being sidelined while being a key part of their penalty kill.  Winnipeg had two open roster spots so no corresponding move needed to be made to activate Lowry.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • The Canadiens will welcome back Emil Heineman tonight against Ottawa, per a team announcement (Twitter link). The rookie has chipped in with 10 goals and seven assists in 41 games despite primarily playing on Montreal’s fourth line as he’s averaging just over 11 minutes a night.  Heineman missed the last five weeks with an upper-body injury sustained on a road trip in Utah when he was struck by a car.
  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic provided (Twitter links) a pair of updates on injured Blue Jackets veterans. Center Sean Monahan skated today and has been skating on his own for a while as he hopes to be back soon from his wrist injury.  He was initially expected to be out until mid-March but is hopeful that he won’t be out for much longer.  Meanwhile, blueliner Erik Gudbranson took part in today’s optional skate.  He has been out since mid-October after undergoing shoulder surgery.  His initial timeline for a return was late March and the fact he’s on the ice now suggests that he’s at least on schedule in his recovery.
  • Maple Leafs winger Max Pacioretty has been ruled out of this weekend’s games after tweaking something earlier in the week, relays Nick Barden of The Hockey News. There’s no timetable yet on how long he’ll miss.  However, they could get center Connor Dewar back on Sunday against Chicago.  Dewar has missed a little over a month with an upper-body injury.  Toronto will have to make a roster move to activate him although that could be as simple as transferring Pacioretty to IR for the time being.

Maple Leafs Place Connor Dewar On Injured Reserve, Recall Nikita Grebenkin

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The Maple Leafs have made a pair of roster moves heading into tonight’s Battle of Ontario against Ottawa.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they have placed center Connor Dewar on injured reserve.  Taking his place on the roster is winger Nikita Grebenkin who was recalled from AHL Toronto.

Dewar was acquired by the Maple Leafs at the trade deadline last season in a move intended to add some extra depth down the middle and help on the penalty kill.  He wound up with 11 goals and eight assists in 79 games between Minnesota and Toronto while suiting up in six of their seven playoff contests.  That helped earn him a one-year, $1.18MM deal from the Maple Leafs this past summer.  He’ll be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent at that time.

But things haven’t gone as well for the 25-year-old this season.  Dewar, who is dealing with an upper-body injury at the moment, missed 14 games with a shoulder injury earlier in the year and has even been healthy scratched periodically as well.  When he has played, Dewar has been quite limited as he has just three assists in 29 games while his playing time is just over ten minutes a night compared to nearly 13 down the stretch with them last season.  The placement is retroactive to January 20th so he’ll be eligible to return as soon as Wednesday against his former team in Minnesota.

As for Grebenkin, he’s in his first season in North America after putting up 41 points in 67 KHL games last season.  He has spent the bulk of the campaign with the Marlies, posting eight goals and eight assists in 29 games.  He did get into seven games with the Maple Leafs earlier in the season and was held off the scoresheet while recording 13 hits in 8:45 of playing time per night.

Maple Leafs Place Auston Matthews On IR, Activate Connor Dewar

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The Maple Leafs have moved Auston Matthews to injured reserve with his upper-body injury retroactive to Nov. 3, the team announced. They’re using the open spot to reinstate forward Connor Dewar from his LTIR conditioning loan and add him to the active roster.

The IR placement only minimally affects Matthews’ timeline for a return. Head coach Craig Berube already told reporters that the superstar would miss his second straight game tonight against the Red Wings and that he was doubtful for tomorrow’s game against the Canadiens. He’s now been ruled out against Montreal thanks to the move to IR but could return for Tuesday’s matchup against the Senators. He’ll miss at least three games in total with the ailment, which he’s been playing through for a good chunk of the season.

Meanwhile, Dewar was one of two players for the Leafs in the AHL on LTIR conditioning stints. They assigned both he and defenseman Jani Hakanpää to the minors at the beginning of the month as they each got their feet back under them after offseason surgeries – in Dewar’s case, a shoulder procedure. LTIR conditioning stints can only last up to three games or six days, and the time constraint ends today. The lack of news regarding Hakanpää indicates he’s not entirely cleared to return to full-time action and will remain on LTIR for a tad longer.

Matthews’ IR placement buys the Leafs a little bit of time, but they’ll still need to make a roster move when the captain is ready to return next week and another one when Hakanpää is eventually ready to play. They have $1.83MM left in their LTIR pool after today’s transactions with Hakanpää, Calle Järnkrok and Dakota Mermis still on the list.

In his lone appearance on his conditioning stint, Dewar had a goal and an assist in what amounted to his first AHL action since the 2021-22 campaign. Acquired from the Wild at last season’s trade deadline, Dewar had a goal and four assists in 17 games for Toronto down the stretch and avoided arbitration over the summer with a one-year, $1.18MM settlement.

The high-energy 5’10” forward can play both center and wing and was a fixture on the Leafs’ penalty kill to close out 2023-24, averaging nearly two-and-a-half minutes per game shorthanded. He’s projected to serve as a healthy scratch against Detroit tonight while Steven Lorentz, David Kämpf and Ryan Reaves remain in fourth-line roles, but he could get a chance to play against the Habs tomorrow.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Maple Leafs Assign Connor Dewar, Jani Hakanpää On LTIR Conditioning Loans

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The Maple Leafs announced today that forward Connor Dewar and defenseman Jani Hakanpää will get some AHL action under their belt after being assigned to the Toronto Marlies on conditioning stints. They’ll remain on long-term injured reserve and won’t count against the NHL roster until they’re ready to return.

Unlike regular conditioning loans in which a player remains on the active roster but can play as many AHL games as are scheduled for their affiliate club over two weeks, LTIR conditioning loans can only last for up to six days or three games, whichever comes first. After the conditioning loan ends, the team must activate the player from LTIR if they’re deemed ready to return to play and haven’t sustained any setbacks in their recovery.

That means some significant roster moves will be coming for the Leafs next week, assuming Dewar’s and Hakanpää’s loans are successful. They have the necessary cap space to activate them, especially after freeing up a decent chunk of money by swapping Timothy Liljegren ($3MM cap hit) for Matt Benning ($1.25MM cap hit) in their trade with the Sharks earlier this week. But they lack actual roster space, and they’ll need to remove two players from the 23-man roster to activate them.

One of those two moves will undoubtedly be waiving depth defenseman Philippe Myers. He unexpectedly made Toronto’s opening night roster after spending most of the last two seasons in the AHL. However, he’s made no impact since doing so. Rostered as a second extra defenseman, he’s only made one appearance so far this season, posting a -1 rating in 12:11 of ice time against the Bruins on Oct. 26. The other move will be more complex. With no other obvious waiver candidates aside from Myers, general manager Brad Treliving could make his second trade in as many weeks to open up the other space.

Outside the roster shenanigans, the Leafs are close to gaining two legitimately valuable depth pieces. Dewar, 25, has donned the Maple Leaf logo before, appearing in 17 regular-season and six playoff games last season after being acquired from the Wild on trade deadline day. He was serviceable in a fourth-line role, posting a goal and four assists with a -2 rating, averaging nearly 13 minutes per game. He can easily switch between center and wing, has recorded over 120 hits in his two full NHL seasons, and averaged 2:24 per game on the penalty kill for Toronto last season after the trade, second among Leafs forwards behind David Kämpf (2:27).

Dewar filed for salary arbitration last summer after reaching restricted free agency but settled before his hearing, agreeing to a one-year, $1.18MM contract to return to the Leafs. He did so two months after receiving shoulder surgery in May. He’s been skating away from and with his teammates for almost a month now as he works his way back, and it now appears he’s not too long away from making his season debut. The 2018 third-round pick scored a career-high 11 goals in 74 appearances last season, split between Minnesota and Toronto.

When Hakanpää comes off LTIR, though, it’ll be the 32-year-old’s Leafs debut. After sitting out the last few months of the Stars’ season with a knee injury, he inked a reported two-year, $3MM deal with Toronto immediately after becoming an unrestricted free agent on July 1. But that contract was never registered with the league, a story that began gaining traction later that month. Hakanpää underwent arthroscopic surgery to address the knee injury while with Dallas but was still dealing with lingering effects, which he and the Leafs’ medical staff initially disagreed on how to move forward from. After a few months of back-and-forth, the two sides came to terms on a revised one-year, $1.47MM contract in mid-September.

A fourth-round pick of the Blues back in 2010, Hakanpää didn’t make his NHL debut until signing with the Ducks as a free agent in 2019. After brief stops in Anaheim and Carolina, the 6’6″ Hakanpää emerged as a legitimate shutdown threat in Dallas. Over the past three seasons, the right-shot defender posted 40 points (12 G, 28 A) and a +29 rating in 226 appearances for the Stars, averaging 18:02 per game with a whopping 363 blocks and 668 hits. With Hakanpää on the ice at even strength, the Stars controlled 46.6% of shot attempts and 47.7% of expected goals, with sub-50 numbers to be expected given his lack of offensive deployment.

Upon their returns, Dewar will look to unseat Kämpf, Pontus Holmberg or Steven Lorentz for a spot in Toronto’s bottom six, while Hakanpää will likely look to usurp Simon Benoit or Conor Timmins for a bottom-pairing role.

Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs, Tavares, Benson, Peterka

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The Toronto Maple Leafs recalled goaltender Dennis Hildeby earlier this morning with Joseph Woll missing the next few days due to “lower-body tightness“. It’s official the latter goaltender will miss at least the next three games with PuckPedia reporting the organization has placed him on injured reserve.

PuckPedia also shared that the organization has moved forward Connor Dewar to long-term injured reserve which puts their available cap space at $337K after today’s moves. Dewar has been nursing a shoulder injury suffered at the end of last season but did skate during training camp in a non-contact jersey.

The news doesn’t bode well for the organization as injury concerns have plagued Woll since he became the full-time goaltender last season. An ankle injury suffered last year lost him nearly two months of the regular season limiting him to only 25 games played. The Maple Leafs brought in a solid insurance option this summer in Anthony Stolarz but the team prefers to have both netminders healthy and available.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • Although many of the headlines will be taken by Mitch Marner’s extension negotiations, the Maple Leafs have another big one to focus on. Pierre LeBrun writes in The Athletic that the organization has begun contract talks with center John Tavares who will become an unrestricted free agent next summer. LeBrun shares that there’s mutual understanding between Tavares and Toronto that there will be a pay cut upon his $11MM salary but the scale factor of change is still up in the air. That will make the extension negotiations more delicate but there is still a desire between both parties to extend their relationship.
  • The Buffalo Sabres shared a report from the team’s practice earlier today showing forwards Zach Benson and John-Jason Peterka were back on the ice. They are both options for the team tomorrow night in their regular season opener in North America after sustaining minor injuries in the team’s games in Prague against the New Jersey Devils.

Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs Injuries, Swayman, Pitlick, Mersch

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Injured Maple Leafs Connor Dewar, Jani Hakanpää, Calle Järnkrok, and John Tavares all skated during practice Monday, albeit in non-contact jerseys on a separate sheet of ice away from the main group (via TSN’s Mark Masters).

Dewar and Hakanpää are recovering from shoulder and knee injuries dating back to the end of last season, while Järnkrok and Tavares are dealing with lower-body injuries sustained during preseason. None of their availabilities for opening night have been confirmed, although especially in Dewar and Hakanpää’s case, the fact they’re skating means their absences shouldn’t stretch too far past the start of the regular season if they’re unable to go. Järnkrok and Tavares remain listed as day-to-day.

That could certainly throw a wrench into the Leafs’ opening night roster if neither Dewar nor Hakanpää will be out long enough to be eligible to land on long-term injured reserve. Toronto is $1.07MM over the salary cap with a full projected roster, per PuckPedia, but could easily become compliant by waiving defenseman Conor Timmins and assigning him to the minors. That doesn’t leave enough room to sign either Steven Lorentz or Max Pacioretty to league-minimum contracts off their PTOs, though.

Head coach Craig Berube said later Monday that he expects Järnkrok and Tavares to take part in the next practice, so their availability for the start of the season should be considered likely at worst (via The Hockey News’ David Alter).

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • There’s still no end in sight to the contract negotiation stalemate between the Bruins and restricted free agent netminder Jeremy Swayman. But when the end arrives, all signs still point to the goalie staying in Boston. Neither side has any interest in starting up preliminary trade talks for his signing rights, even amid an unusually difficult set of talks, The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa relays. “Swayman wants to be a Bruin. The feeling is mutual,” he wrote.
  • Still with Boston, veteran winger Tyler Pitlick will attend their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins’, training camp on a PTO, reports the New England Hockey Journal’s Mark Divver. It’s quite a steep fall down the hockey ladder for the 32-year-old who appeared in 34 games with the Rangers last season on a one-way deal before landing on waivers in February and spending the rest of the season with AHL Hartford. Pitlick, a bottom-six defensive presence for most of his 10-year, 420-game career, was limited to four points with the Rangers and seven points in 22 games with Hartford last year.
  • Former Kings forward and longtime Sabres depth piece Michael Mersch announced his retirement Monday. The 31-year-old had spent the last four seasons with Buffalo’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, serving as captain since 2021. A fourth-round pick of Los Angeles in 2011, Mersch posted 188 goals, 213 assists, and 401 points in 597 AHL games in parts of 11 seasons with the Kings’, Sabres’, and Stars’ affiliates. He played 17 NHL games, all with Los Angeles in the 2015-16 campaign, recording a goal and two assists.

Maple Leafs Notes: Nylander, Rogers, Tavares, Dewar, Minten, Danford

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The grand William Nylander center experiment has new legs under incoming head coach Craig Berube. He told reporters Wednesday that he’ll open camp with Nylander down the middle with Max Domi on his wing (via David Alter of The Hockey News).

The Maple Leafs have utilized Nylander at center on and off throughout his nine-year career, but never for an extended period. Berube hinted that could change, though, allowing Toronto to potentially have one of the deepest top nines down the middle in the league with Auston Matthews and John Tavares anchoring separate lines.

Nylander has frequently alternated between Matthews’ and Tavares’ right wings since the latter arrived in Toronto in 2018, mostly skating with the latter. He’s coming off a career-best 2023-24 campaign that saw him score 40 goals and 98 points, skating in all 82 games for the second regular season in a row. He’s entering the first year of the eight-year, $92MM extension he signed in January.

More news and notes as Toronto begins its training camp:

  • Rogers Communications is now the majority owner of parent corporation Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment after purchasing a 37.5% stake in the company for nearly $3.5B, Scott Soshnick and Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico report. Rogers already owned 37.5% of the company and purchased this stake from fellow Canadian telecom giant Bell, putting a total valuation of MLSE at $9.3B. The corporation owns the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, MLS’ Toronto FC, and the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts in addition to the Maple Leafs. The transaction will close in mid-2025.
  • For the second time in his career, Tavares is beginning a contract year without an extension in hand and risks becoming an unrestricted free agent. “I want to be here. I want to be here long term, hopefully that happens,” he told reporters Wednesday (via Alter). Now in the final year of the seven-year, $77MM mega-deal he signed to come to Toronto as a free agent in 2018, Tavares will be looking at a significant reduction from his $11MM AAV to stay in Toronto. The captain turns 34 on Friday and had 29 goals and 65 points in 80 games last season.
  • General manager Brad Trelivingalso spoke to reporters today, offering injury updates on a variety of Leafs skaters who will be absent from the first day of camp (via Alter). Chief among them is Connor Dewar, who’s still not fully cleared following offseason shoulder surgery. The 25-year-old won’t be ready for the start of camp but should be good to go when the regular season begins next month. Dewar had a goal and four assists in 17 games with Toronto after being acquired from the Wild at last year’s trade deadline. An RFA this summer, he and the Leafs settled on a one-year, $1.18MM deal to avoid arbitration.
  • Roster hopeful Fraser Minten is looking at a weeks-long absence after sustaining a high-ankle sprain during rookie camp, Treliving said. It’s a tough blow for the 20-year-old, who unexpectedly cracked the Leafs’ opening-night roster last year and averaged 11:26 through four appearances before being loaned back to his junior club. Minten, the No. 38 overall pick in 2022, is now old enough for a full-time AHL assignment and will likely be sent to the Toronto Marlies to begin the season after he’s cleared to return.
  • Treliving also confirmed that 2024 first-round pick Ben Danford sustained a concussion during rookie camp but is progressing well. The 18-year-old defender could get a few reps with Toronto in camp later on but will spend 2024-25 on loan to the OHL’s Oshawa Generals after signing his entry-level contract in August.

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