- Although they’ve lost veteran defenseman Chris Tanev for the foreseeable future, the Toronto Maple Leafs may have a different right-handed defenseman return this weekend. Earlier today, Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun highlighted in his article that Brandon Carlo could be activated from the injured reserve for Saturday’s game against the New York Islanders. Carlo, in his first full season with the Maple Leafs, has been largely disappointing this year, registering two assists in 18 games while being injured for much of the year due to lower-body concerns.
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Maple Leafs Rumors
Auston Matthews Expected To Return Thursday
Jan. 1: It looks like only a one-game absence for Matthews. He was a full participant at morning skate and is expected to center Matthew Knies and Max Domi tonight against the Jets, per Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun.
Dec. 30: The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that star forward Auston Matthews will miss Tuesday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils and will be out day-to-day due to a lower-body injury. Matthews sustained the injury on a blocked shot in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings. He missed Tuesday morning’s practice and was designated as a game-time decision before being ruled out.
The Maple Leafs are already down forward Dakota Joshua and defenseman Chris Tanev due to injury. Defender Matt Benning and forward Jacob Quillan were recalled to fill in for those absences. Calle Jarnkrok will step back into the lineup for Matthews after four games on the shelf.
Even with the committee effort and a quiet year from their star, Toronto is still going to face a steep test trying to make up for Matthews’ absence. He snapped a four-game scoring drought on December 27th and has four points in two games since. That brings Matthews up to 27 points in 33 games this season, good for fourth on the team in scoring. He is riding a 11.7 shooting percentage this season – roughly four percent lower than his career average of 15.6 percent. Matthews’ shooting success has dwindled over the last two seasons after he managed a career-high 18.7 percent – and 69 goals – in the 2023-24 season.
Quillan and Jarnkrok will fill out the fourth line on Tuesday night, while Scott Laughton earns a bump up to the third line. Laughton has stepped up as a responsible veteran over the recent stretch, bringing some support to a Maple Leafs offense that has leaned more on their depth as of late. His defense-first approach has helped multiple depth players step up their scoring. Toronto has scored 16 goals over its last three games, with multiple points from Matias Maccelli, Bobby McMann, and Nicholas Robertson. Those players will need to continue stepping up to keep the offense firing without Matthews in the lineup.
Latest On Auston Matthews
This afternoon’s action was especially tough for the Rangers, as the team shared that Noah Laba (upper body) and Conor Sheary (lower body) did not return, as they lost to Washington. It was not immediately specified, but Laba’s injury is likely related to the heavy hit he sustained from Tom Wilson, while Sheary’s ailment was not as glaringly noticeable.
Laba, a rookie, has not yet missed a game this season, posting 12 points in 42 games mostly in a third line role. Sheary, meanwhile, has been scratched this season, with just one goal in 37 games, production far from his past as a dependable secondary scorer. Although their forward depth has taken a hit, thankfully the Blueshirts welcomed back top defenseman Adam Fox today, who made an immediate impact with a goal and an assist.
Now set to travel to Miami and take on the Panthers under the eyes of the hockey world in the 2026 NHL Winter Classic, a roster move may be in order if neither are able to play. Brennan Othmann, a scratch today, could slot into the marquee game on January 2.
Elsewhere across the league:
- This morning Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews returned to practice, as shared by Dave McCarthy of NHL.com. The superstar was listed as day-to-day yesterday with a lower-body injury, which happened from a blocked shot last Sunday. In his absence, the Leafs picked up a shutout win over New Jersey, but now Matthews could be in line to return by tomorrow, as the team hosts Winnipeg. Toronto dodged a bullet with Matthews’ status, and will seek a rapid turnaround in the New Year on the back of the 28-year-old sniper once healthy.
- Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov has begun light skating, as reported in a Hockey News article by David Dwork. After suffering a devastating ACL and MCL injury in the first practice of training camp, Barkov still has a long way to go, but today’s update is encouraging news entering 2026. The injury riddled Panthers have stayed afloat, and with Matthew Tkachuk nearing a return, Florida will look to secure a playoff spot and set the table for Barkov to possibly join the group by March. If healthy come postseason, the two-time reining Selke winner would give Florida a real shot at the first Stanley Cup three-peat since the Islanders 40 years ago.
Chris Tanev, Dakota Joshua Out Indefinitely
Dec. 31: Head coach Craig Berube told reporters today, including Friedman, that Tanev will be out indefinitely after being diagnosed with a groin injury.
Dec. 30: After previously being ruled out for tonight’s game, it’s clear Maple Leafs skaters Chris Tanev and Dakota Joshua will miss more time than that. Tanev will be out for “some time” with a lower-body issue unrelated to the previous injury that sidelined him for nearly two months, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports, while Joshua sustained a kidney injury in Sunday’s game against the Red Wings that resulted in internal bleeding, remaining in Detroit for observation.
Both will likely end up on injured reserve today to create the roster space for Matt Benning and Jacob Quillan, who were recalled from AHL Toronto this morning. Tanev was only just activated from IR last week, missing 27 of Toronto’s previous 28 contests with an upper-body injury. The right-shot defenseman’s brief return to the Toronto roster consisted of three games of work, posting a +3 rating with seven blocks while averaging 20:40 of ice time.
Tanev, arguably the Leafs’ most stabilizing defensive presence, has played in only 11 games this year due to an upper-body injury he initially sustained on Oct. 21 against the Devils. Despite that, his +8 rating is still third-best on the team, and his duo with Jake McCabe has allowed just 0.84 goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, sitting among the league’s most staunch defense pairs.
Another multi-game absence will force the Leafs to continue to lean on overmatched right-shot depth like Philippe Myers, although it will give the chance for waiver claim Troy Stecher (1-5–6, +9 in 19 GP) to continue his strong run of play alongside McCabe. The burden on Myers and Stecher should be eased soon with Brandon Carlo nearing a return from foot surgery, but it’s far from an ideal situation as Toronto tries to climb out of a tie for last place in the Eastern Conference.
Joshua had appeared in all but two games for the Leafs this season, his first in Toronto after being acquired from the Canucks last offseason in exchange for a fourth-round pick. He’s improved on his underwhelming showing for Vancouver last year, but not by much, putting up a 6-4–10 scoring line in 36 games. He’s excelled in providing the element of physicality that’s expected from him, though, leading the team in hits with 127 and ranking second among Leafs forwards with 26 blocks.
For a player starting nearly three-quarters of his even-strength shifts in the defensive zone, though, Joshua’s -2 rating is a fine one. He’s consistently logged third-line minutes at even strength and is far from being an insignificant loss for what will likely be the next several weeks as a result. Expanded ice time should be in store for trade bait Matias Maccelli and rookie Easton Cowan, who’s posted four goals and 11 points through his first 27 games.
Maple Leafs Recall Matt Benning, Jacob Quillan
The Maple Leafs have recalled defenseman Matt Benning and center Jacob Quillan from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, according to a team announcement. Toronto’s active roster is full, so two corresponding moves will be necessary. The reinforcements come as defender Chris Tanev and left winger Dakota Joshua will be scratched for tonight’s game against the Devils due to lower-body and upper-body injuries, respectively, but the Leafs haven’t yet said whether they’ll miss enough time to be eligible for IR placements.
Tanev’s and Joshua’s absences aren’t the only injury troubles the Leafs are facing, either. Auston Matthews will be a game-time decision after sustaining a lower-body injury in Sunday’s loss to the Red Wings that briefly caused him to leave the bench. William Nylander’s status for tonight is also unclear – he remains day-to-day after sitting out the Detroit loss with a lower-body injury.
Benning, 31, was a full-time NHLer for several years with the Oilers, Predators, and Sharks but hasn’t seen much playing time over the past two seasons. Hip surgery limited him to 14 games in 2023-24 and, after making seven appearances for San Jose to kick off last season, was traded to Toronto. The Leafs immediately waived him and reassigned him to the Marlies, where he’s played since.
The 6’1″ puck-mover put up disappointing numbers last year but has seemed to find his game again in 2025-26. Now in the final year of a four-year, $5MM deal he signed with the Sharks in free agency in 2022, he’s tied for eighth on the Marlies in scoring with two goals and eight assists for 10 points despite being limited to 16 appearances, posting a decent +4 rating to boot. He’s already eclipsed all of his offensive marks from last season in 39 games.
With Tanev coming out, adding a right-shot option like Benning to the roster was preferable. Whether he plays tonight against the Devils or whether Simon Benoit re-enters the lineup on his off side after serving as a scratch for the last three games remains to be seen.
Quillan’s recall is his second of the season. The 23-year-old pivot was rostered for a nine-day stretch last month, getting into a pair of games – the second and third of his NHL career. He’s still looking for his first big league point and would enter the lineup tonight if both Matthews and Nylander can’t go.
An undrafted free agent out of Quinnipiac, the 6’1″ Quillan has emerged as the Marlies’ top two-way forward in just his second professional season. He leads the team with 18 assists and 23 points in 26 games, as does his +7 rating. He’s done plenty to cement his ceiling as a long-term bottom-six option in Toronto and, although there isn’t much of a job for him this year, has likely been penciled in as a replacement for pending unrestricted free agent Scott Laughton.
Bruins Have Shown Interest In Matias Maccelli
The Bruins are known to be in the market for a winger as they look to gain ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race. According to Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic, re-upping a sentiment Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet had first put out earlier in the month, Maple Leafs lefty Matias Maccelli is another name they’ve checked in on.
Maccelli, 25, has displayed top-six playmaking talent in the past but has seen his production take a significant hit since the beginning of the 2024-25 season. The 2019 fourth-round pick of the Coyotes averaged 44 assists per 82 games through his first two full NHL campaigns, but is averaging just 18 over the last two years with Utah and Toronto.
Overall, Maccelli has 251 big league games on his track record, averaging a 14-33–47 scoring line over a full season. His 0.60 points per game since his fourth-place Calder Trophy finish in 2022-23 ranks 122nd in the league among forwards with at least 200 games. His possession impacts have historically been above average, including a career-high 55.2% Corsi share at 5-on-5 with Utah last year.
After falling out of favor with Mammoth head coach André Tourigny last season, he was flipped to the Leafs in June for a 2027 third-round pick. He was one of multiple reclamation project-type wingers Toronto added in the hopes of being able to replace Mitch Marner’s lost production by committee. The 5’11” Finn got off to a slow start with one assist through his first six games and never managed to climb up the depth chart, though. He’s been limited to 27 appearances, largely due to a string of scratches that kept him out of the lineup for 10 of 11 contests between Nov. 22 and Dec. 20.
Maccelli has played in five straight since that run of time in the press box, though, and his production has finally begun to spike. He’s averaged 16:03 of ice time during that stretch with four points (one goal, three assists), stapled to John Tavares’ wing on Toronto’s second line. He’s also seen increased power-play deployment under new man-advantage coach Steve Sullivan, featuring on the top unit in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Red Wings.
Boston’s other known target, Kiefer Sherwood, would be a rental. Maccelli is also on an expiring contract, but would remain under team control as a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. He costs $3.425MM against the cap but is due a $4.11MM qualifying offer as a result of his backloaded contract structure, which includes a $4.25MM base salary for 2025-26. Considering he’s on pace for 39 points this year, that might be a price the Bruins are willing to pay (in addition to the asset(s) required to trade for him), but there’s no guarantee.
Even with Maccelli’s recent spike, the Leafs have continued to slip in the standings – now tied for last in the East – and have been open to moving Maccelli in hopes of clearing up some cap space (and getting out from under his aforementioned QO). His point pace should allow them to recoup the third-round pick they gave up for him but likely not much more than that.
Maple Leafs Reassign Marshall Rifai, Henry Thrun
Dec. 29th: According to Frank Seravalli, Rifai has made it through waivers unscathed. Although an official update has yet to come from the Maple Leafs, it’s expected that Rifai will be reassigned to AHL Toronto at some point today.
Dec. 28th: The Maple Leafs placed defenseman Marshall Rifai on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Toronto on Sunday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Earlier in the day, the club also announced it’d reassigned defenseman Henry Thrun to the AHL.
Rifai has been on long-term injured reserve since the beginning of the campaign after requiring wrist surgery as a result of a preseason injury. He began skating earlier this month and was initially assigned to the AHL on a long-term injury conditioning stint on Dec. 18, a move that does not require waivers. Now that the roster freeze has lifted, though, the Leafs had to either activate him today or initiate waiver proceedings.
While his conditioning stint began over a week ago, his only appearance came just yesterday against the Utica Comets. The 27-year-old lefty took a minor penalty and had a +1 rating with one shot on goal.
The 6’2″, 211-lb Rifai is now in his fourth season with the Leafs organization. Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Harvard in 2022, he quickly impressed in the minors as a high-end physical shutdown piece and made his NHL debut in 2023-24.
Despite signing a two-year, one-way, $1.55MM extension last year, those two NHL games back in February 2024 stand as the only ones on his career ledger. He’s slotted anywhere between No. 8 and 10 on Toronto’s organizational defensive depth chart for a few years now and has been recalled on multiple occasions to serve as a healthy extra when needed, but it hasn’t resulted in much playing time.
With an excess of left shots on the Leafs’ roster, the path to NHL playing time won’t get much wider for Rifai anytime soon, either. Instead, the Quebec native will look to get his feet under him this season in a familiar AHL environment.
As for Thrun, his demotion is long overdue. Toronto had been operating over the roster limit since activating Chris Tanev from injured reserve on Tuesday. With the freeze lifted today, they can get back to 23 players by returning Thrun to the Marlies.
Acquired from the Sharks last summer for Ryan Reaves, Thrun passed through waivers at the beginning of the year and remained with the AHL club until Dec. 10, when the Leafs summoned him in place of the injured Dakota Mermis. He played in four straight to begin his recall before being scratched for Toronto’s last four. In his stint in the lineup, he posted a -1 rating while averaging 14:52 per game.
Peter DeBoer Not Positioning Himself For Maple Leafs' Head Coach
- Despite General Manager Brad Treliving recently giving head coach Craig Berube a vote of confidence for the second half of the season, there has been plenty of speculation regarding his future tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Much of that speculation has been driven by the availability of Pete DeBoer, who recently coached the Dallas Stars to three consecutive Western Conference Finals. Although some in Toronto may be wishing for DeBoer, he doesn’t appear to want the job. In a recent article from Nick Barden of The Hockey News, it was highlighted that DeBoer sent a text to Berube recently, indicating that he wasn’t involved in any of the speculation.
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Maple Leafs’ William Nylander Out Day-To-Day
The Toronto Maple Leafs will have to deal with yet another injury moving forward. Star winger William Nylander will miss Sunday night’s game and sit out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury head coach Craig Berube told David Alter of The Hockey News. Rookie Easton Cowan will step back into the lineup in Nylander’s place. It will be Cowan’s first game in over a week.
Few players will be tougher to lose than Nylander. He leads the Maple Leafs in scoring with 41 points in 33 games this season. That standing stood up through a relatively quiet start to the month of December. Nylander only scored four points, all assists, through the first 10 games of the month. He has more than made up for the lull, though, with five points in his last two games.
Nylander has recorded the third-highest average ice time on Toronto’s offense, behind only Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. He leaves a massive hole in Toronto’s lineup that will likely require a committee approach to fill. Cowan will be some help, boasting 11 points in 26 games of his rookie season and offering a nice bit of explosive offense. But the first-year pro won’t be able to keep the offense afloat on his own. Toronto will need a surge in impact from players like Matias Maccelli, Max Domi, and Bobby McMann in Nylander’s absence. They could also benefit from a bounce back for star Matthews, who snapped a four-game scoring drought with a three-point night on Saturday. A few more games like that should be enough to keep Toronto in the win column while Nylander works back to full health.
Carlo Skates Before Practice
- Maple Leafs defenseman Brandon Carlo took part in Toronto’s morning skate today as he works his way back from foot surgery, relays David Alter of The Hockey News. The 29-year-old has missed the last six weeks with what was originally termed as a maintenance thing but he wound up having a procedure done earlier this month. Carlo is in his first full season with Toronto and has two assists and 34 blocked shots in 18 games while averaging just over 20 minutes per game of playing time. While he’s back skating, there remains no firm timetable for a return to the lineup.