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Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Conor Timmins

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have found their defenseman, acquiring Conor Timmins from the Arizona Coyotes according to Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports. The team will be sending minor league forward Curtis Douglas in return.

At one point, not too long ago, Timmins was one of the brightest young defensive prospects in the game. He was a big part of the trade that sent Darcy Kuemper to the Colorado Avalanche last summer, and was supposed to be a key player for Arizona’s rebuild.

But injuries have ruined his career so far, with Timmins playing just 105 games since the start of the 2018-19 season. Just two of those have come this year with Arizona, before he was sent down on a conditioning stint with the Tucson Roadrunners. As Morgan explains, the team wanted to send him down for a longer period in the AHL but he would have certainly been claimed on waivers.

Instead, he heads to Toronto where—you may have guessed—he is reunited with his other Soo Greyhounds alumni. Three of the Maple Leafs’ current roster defensemen were on the 2017-18 Greyhounds roster. Timmins, Mac Hollowell, and Rasmus Sandin were an incredible trio on that junior team, and will now be reunited in Toronto.

Whether Timmins can ever reach his previous potential remains to be seen, but it’s a worthwhile gamble for a Toronto team that is desperate for help on the back end. Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, and T.J. Brodie are all injured long-term, meaning Mark Giordano was left as the most reliable option.

In Douglas, the Coyotes are getting a massive forward that showed some scoring touch last season. The 22-year-old stands 6’9″ and scored 13 goals and 34 points for the Toronto Marlies in 2021-22. That offensive ability has completely dried up this year though, with Douglas registering just a single point in 13 games so far.

Morgan Rielly Placed On Long-Term Injured Reserve

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are without their top three defensemen now, after Morgan Rielly exited last night with a knee injury. Rielly has been quickly moved to long-term injured reserve, with Darren Dreger of TSN tweeting that there are “rumblings” of a grade 1 or 2 MCL injury. That would come with a four to six-week recovery, according to Dreger.

In his place, the team has recalled Victor Mete and Mac Hollowell from the AHL.

At a very minimum, the veteran defenseman will miss 10 games and 24 days with his LTIR placement. Given he is expected back this season, the cap flexibility awarded with this move is temporary. The Maple Leafs could not for instance replace Rielly’s cap hit with an external option, as they’ll need it to activate him again down the road.

With Rielly, Jake Muzzin, and T.J. Brodie out all at the same time – the latter was on the ice before practice today testing out his oblique injury – the Maple Leafs are in a tough spot. The team’s most reliable defender becomes 39-year-old Mark Giordano, with some mix of Justin Holl, Timothy Liljegren, Rasmus Sandin, and Jordie Benn behind him.

Mete obviously has plenty of NHL experience as well, but Hollowell would be making his debut should he get into the lineup.

With that in mind, there will be plenty of speculation surrounding the Maple Leafs in the next few weeks. The team had already been linked to several defensemen around the league, and if Muzzin is out for the rest of the season, as expected, they do have a bit of cap room to work with.

Brodie Not Progressing As Hoped

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The Toronto Maple Leafs won’t have T.J. Brodie back for a little while, as the defenseman is not progressing as hoped, according to head coach Sheldon Keefe. David Alter of Sports Illustrated reports that Brodie will not travel with the team as they head out for four road games after tonight’s matchup with the New York Islanders.

Snapshots: McDonagh, Samsonov, Tarasenko

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If the season were to end today, the Nashville Predators would, for a second straight season, find themselves in the playoffs as the eighth seed out of the Western Conference. Last season, the team was rewarded for its efforts with a 4-0 sweep in the first round at the hands of the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Colorado Avalanche. This season, should they make the playoffs, they’ll now have a new weapon: a veteran shutdown defenseman with Stanley Cup pedigree in that of defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who they acquired this offseason from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Though Nashville has had their struggles thus far, McDonagh has been the steady, reliable presence they’d hoped for, helping to keep them in the hunt early on.

However, as The Athletic’s Joe Smith details, there was a time when McDonagh was nearly on his way to the Columbus Blue Jackets this offseason. According to Smith’s discussions with McDonagh and agent Ben Hankinson, a deal to Columbus was rather close. But, on the morning of July 3rd, things began to change. As Smith writes, Lightning GM Julien BriseBois had set that day as a deadline to find a trade partner for McDonagh, who carried a no-movement clause on his contract. If they could not, Smith added, there was a chance McDonagh could have been placed on waivers. Instead, the story goes, Nashville and GM David Poile jumped into the mix that day and made the push to acquire McDonagh. Ultimately, it was the Predators who checked more boxes than any other interested team, McDonagh said.

  • After Ilya Samsonov suffered a knee injury in a game against the Boston Bruins two weeks ago, many wondered how the Toronto Maple Leafs would resolve their issues in net, down both of their regular netminders. Toronto managed to bide their time, relying on Erik Kallgren, until Murray’s return this Tuesday, however they will need that pair to stay healthy for now, as Samsonov does not appear close to return. According to TSN’s Mark Masters, who spoke with Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, Samsonov did not skate Friday. As Keefe says, Samsonov is still healing and not yet at the point to push himself every day and make the push to return. Fortunately for Toronto, the comments don’t appear to point to any setback in Samsonov’s recovery, even if his return is not clear.
  • NHL.com’s Chris Pinkert reports that St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko will not play tonight due to illness. It doesn’t appear that the illness is in any way COVID related. Skating in his place will be Alexey Toropchenko, who will play alongside Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas. The 23-year-old Toropchenko has just one goal in 11 games this season, but a chance to skate in the Blues’ top-six could reignite the winger.

Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Mac Hollowell

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According to the AHL’s Transactions page and the Toronto Maple Leafs roster page, the Maple Leafs have recalled defenseman Mac Hollowell from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. There does not appear to be any corresponding moves made.

Thankfully for Hollowell, both the NHL and AHL club play in the same city, as he’s been bounced around plenty this week, in fact this is his third recall since November 14th. The Maple Leafs, who are sitting very close to the salary cap, even utilizing LTIR, have had to get creative with their roster recently, which seems to include shuffling Hollowell between the NHL and AHL. This recall gives the Maple Leafs a full 23-man roster, including seven defenseman.

Despite the frequent recalls, Hollowell has yet to actually crack the NHL lineup, though if he does, it would be his NHL debut. The shuffling has also yet to do any harm to his gameplay, the defenseman recording nine points, all assists, in 10 AHL games thus far. The 24-year-old was a fourth-round pick of the Maple Leafs back in 2018.

The Maple Leafs will host the Buffalo Sabres tonight at 7:00 pm ET.

Toronto's Interest In Tyler Myers Believed To Be Lukewarm

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With the Maple Leafs set to miss Jake Muzzin for several more months and perhaps longer, it has led to some speculation that they could look to acquire a veteran rearguard in his place.  To that end, some have suggested that Canucks blueliner Tyler Myers could be a fit but Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston reports that Toronto’s interest is believed to be lukewarm at most.  Myers is signed through next season with a $6MM AAV and has logged over 20 minutes a night throughout his career.  However, his production has fallen off over the past few seasons as he has only scored once in his last 97 games.

Vladislav Gavrikov Linked To Maple Leafs

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  • While the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate their win over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night, the rest of the hockey world seems to be focused on finding them a new defenseman. Another piece came out today, this time from Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, detailing several candidates to replace Jake Muzzin. One name that is listed is Vladislav Gavrikov of the Columbus Blue Jackets, a name that has also been brought up by The Fourth Period in relation to the Maple Leafs. Toronto has some additional cap flexibility due to the injury to Jake Muzzin, which is keeping him out indefinitely and could end his career.

Toronto Maple Leafs Activate Matt Murray

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As expected, the Toronto Maple Leafs have activated Matt Murray from long-term injured reserve ahead of their matchup tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins. In a pair of corresponding moves, Wayne Simmonds and Keith Petruzzelli have been returned to the minor leagues, according to CapFriendly.

Murray, 28, has played in just one game this season, allowing four goals on 23 shots. In his absence, the team had been running a duo of Ilya Samsonov and Erik Kalllgren until the former suffered an injury of his own, leaving the latter to handle the entire load. Petruzzelli, who earned an NHL contract just so the team would have two eligible goaltenders, did not see any action during his recall.

The Maple Leafs took a big gamble acquiring Murray this year, after injuries have ravaged his performance the last few years. When he takes the ice tonight he will be appearing in just his second NHL game since March 5, when he last played for the Ottawa Senators (and allowed eight goals on 31 shots).

It should, at least, be a familiar spot for him to try and get back on track. Murray spent the first five seasons of his career in Pittsburgh, posting a .914 save percentage over 199 regular season games and leading the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. It’s easy to forget just how well he played during those playoff runs, including posting three shutouts and a .937 save percentage in 11 games after returning from injury in 2017.

If the Maple Leafs could get that Murray back they might be one of the most dangerous teams in the league, but he hasn’t existed in recent years. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Murray has a .898 save percentage in 86 games.

Matt Murray Expected To Start Tuesday

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  • The Toronto Maple Leafs may be dealing with injuries to their defense corps, but the goaltenders are getting healthy. Matt Murray is expected to start for the team on Tuesday, while Ilya Samsonov was on the ice with the team this morning. Even Joseph Woll, who has been out for the entire season so far, is expected to join the Toronto Marlies for practice tomorrow according to David Alter of Sports Illustrated. Suddenly, the Maple Leafs may have their entire goaltending group healthy all at once, after being forced to sign Keith Petruzzelli to an NHL deal just to dress a backup recently.

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