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Maple Leafs Place Chris Tanev On Injured Reserve, Recall Dakota Mermis

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Sunday: Toronto has reversed this move after Tanev left Saturday’s game on a stretcher in the third period. Tanev will head back to IR, while Mermis has been recalled to the active roster, per Lance Hornby of Post Media. No specifics of Tanev’s injury, or timeline, have been revealed, though Hornby points out that Toronto did not feel the need to place Tanev on long-term injured reserve.

Saturday: The Maple Leafs announced that Tanev has officially been activated.  As expected, Mermis has been assigned to the minors to make room for Tanev on the active roster.

Friday: Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev told reporters today, including David Alter of The Hockey News, that he’s cleared concussion protocol and is likely to play Saturday against the Flyers. He’ll need to come off injured reserve to do so, meaning the team must create a roster spot before tomorrow night. Dakota Mermis was the player recalled when Tanev landed on IR last week and could return to AHL Toronto after sitting as a healthy scratch in three straight games.

Tanev will have missed 11 days and four games when his absence comes to an end this weekend. He was on the receiving end of a hit on Oct. 21 against the Devils that caused him to leave the game early.

Before exiting the lineup, the 35-year-old had been his usual stable self. The stalwart rearguard only had one assist in seven games, but his +3 rating is still second among Toronto defensemen despite the absence, and the Leafs were allowing just 1.7 goals per 60 minutes at even strength when he was on the ice. The raw shot attempt numbers aren’t in Tanev’s favor so far – his 46.3 CF% at even strength is 19th out of 22 skaters to play a game for Toronto this season – but that has more to do with a lack of offense coming from Toronto’s forwards when he and usual partner Jake McCabe were on the ice. The duo’s 2.27 xGA/60 is still the lowest among the Leafs’ three regular pairings.

Toronto’s defense needs all the help it can get with its goaltenders not holding up their end of the bargain. After receiving some of the best puck-stopping in the league last season, the Leafs’ goaltenders have been the main culprit behind their underwhelming 5-5-1 record through October. Anthony Stolarz has only managed a .886 SV% in eight starts, while waiver-claim backup Cayden Primeau, playing in place of Joseph Woll (who’s on the verge of returning from an extended personal leave), has an .838 mark in his three starts.

Chris Tanev Medical Update

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The Toronto Maple Leafs issued an update today on the health status of defenseman Chris Tanev, who had to be helped off the ice during the team’s road win over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Maple Leafs said Tanev “was evaluated overnight in Philadelphia for precautionary purposes” and has since “been discharged” and will return to Toronto. Ignoring Tanev’s readiness to play, the injury he suffered last night was worrying simply regarding Tanev’s personal health and safety. While the team did not confirm further details of the injury, it’s encouraging to see Tanev fit enough to be discharged and allowed to return to Toronto.

William Nylander Misses Another Game Due To Injury

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  • Toronto Maple Leafs star winger William Nylander missed another game due to his lower-body injury. The 29-year-old has been managing the injury for some time, his classification originally beginning as a game-time decision on Oct. 27 before deteriorating to an “out” designation for each of the Maple Leafs’ last two games. Nylander has been Toronto’s best player early this season with 15 points in nine games. While last night was a difficult one for Toronto sports overall, the Maple Leafs managed to register a strong 5-2 win in Nylander’s absence.

Late Night Notes: Tanev, Makar, Wutzke

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Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev was taken out of Saturday night’s game on a stretcher, following a collision with Philadelphia Flyers winger Matvei Michkov halfway through the third period. It wasn’t clear exactly where Tanev took the bump, though he was fitted with a head immobilizer.

It is a terrible outcome in what was meant to be Tanev’s first full game back from a previous injury. He was activated off of injured reserve earlier on Saturday, after missing 11 days and four games with a concussion sustained on October 21st.

Tanev remained a core part of Toronto’s blue-line prior to his October 21st injury. His plus-three through seven games is the second-highest among Toronto defenders. He also leads the blue-line with four takeaways on the year.

Toronto could be pushed to recall Dakota Mermis, who was assigned to the AHL to make room for Tanev’s return. Mermis has no scoring through one appearance in the NHL, and two in the AHL, this season. He could continue to fit outside the lineup, should Toronto continue leaning on Philippe Myers and Simon Benoit in a nightly role.

Other notes from around the NHL:

  • The Colorado Avalanche have assigned forward Taylor Makar to the AHL. Makar made his NHL debut on Saturday. He posted one hit and no shots in just six minutes of action. The night was also Taylor’s first chance to play alongside brother Cale Makar at the NHL rank. Despite playing for the same junior and college programs, the two hadn’t formally played together, largely thanks to Cale being three years Taylor’s senior. With this move, the younger Makar will now return to the AHL ranks, where he’s already accrued four points and 14 penalty minutes in nine games. He’s playing through his rookie AHL season, after earning a five-game sample in the league following the end of his senior year last season.
  • Minnesota Wild goalie prospect Chase Wutzke has been traded in the WHL. He moved from the Red Deer Rebels to the Moose Jaw Warriors in a lofty trade – with one first-round, two second-round, one third-round, and two fourth-round draft picks headed back to Red Deer. Wutzke will bring starting upside to the Warriors. He’s posted a .889 save percentage in nine games so far this season, a that mark sits above both of Moose Jaw’s goaltenders. That should earn Wutzke the starter’s crease sooner rather than later, and give Moose Jaw one more piece to help push towards a long season.

William Nylander Out Day-To-Day With Lower-Body Injury

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The Toronto Maple Leafs announced tonight that star forward William Nylander would miss their game against the Columbus Blue Jackets with a lower-body injury, and is considered day-to-day. That Nylander is managing a lower-body injury isn’t a new development; he was previously reported to be a game-time decision for the team’s game yesterday against the Calgary Flames, and the Swedish star ultimately played in that game. He wasn’t able to play tonight against Columbus, though, dealing a significant blow to the Maple Leafs’ hopes of winning the game.

Nylander has been the Maple Leafs’ best player so far this season, leading the club in scoring with 15 points in just nine games played. The offseason departure of Mitch Marner turned up the pressure on Nylander to keep the Maple Leafs’ high-powered offense running, and so far he’s done so, picking up the slack as captain Auston Matthews (eight points through 10 games) navigates a slower-than-usual start to the season. The injury that has kept him out of tonight’s game appears to be a relatively minor one, which is certainly good news for a Toronto team that will need Nylander on the ice if they’re going to build momentum in the Atlantic Division playoff race.

Injury Notes: Wood, Bogosian, Nylander

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Blue Jackets winger Miles Wood will be in the lineup versus the Sabres on Tuesday, head coach Dean Evason said. It’s Wood’s first outing in over two weeks after leaving an Oct. 13 game against the Devils because of a stick to the eye. He never landed on injured reserve, in part due to Columbus carrying a bare-bones roster to start the year, but was ruled out for at least a week by the team anyway at the time of the injury. It was a significant injury that caused Wood to experience remarkably inhibited vision for multiple days due to blood in his eye. However, he underwent testing last week after it cleared, which indicated he avoided any permanent damage.

The 30-year-old had a goal and two hits in his first three games as a Blue Jacket after he was acquired from the Avalanche over the summer. Zach Aston-Reese will be scratched to accommodate Wood re-entering the lineup alongside Isac Lundeström and Yegor Chinakhov, Evason said. It will be Aston-Reese’s first scratch of the young season; Chinakhov started the season as the extra forward before Wood’s injury created an opening for him in the lineup.

There are more injury notes from around the league:

  • Wild defenseman Zach Bogosian’s status has been downgraded from day-to-day to week-to-week, head coach John Hynes said Tuesday (via Joe Smith of The Athletic). Minnesota already placed Bogosian on injured reserve last week, so he’s eligible to return at any time, but it doesn’t appear they’re going to need to worry about activating him soon. After a decent start to the season in bottom-pairing duties, the 15-year veteran sustained a lower-body injury against the Capitals on Oct. 17 and has now missed five games. Bogosian posted a plus-three rating with nine blocks and six hits in five games before landing on IR, controlling 48.2% of shot attempts at even strength in the process.
  • Maple Leafs star William Nylander remains a game-time decision ahead of tonight’s game against the Flames, per head coach Craig Berube (via Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun). Nylander was banged up with a lower-body issue last Friday against the Sabres and was a late scratch for the second half of their back-to-back with Buffalo after taking warmups. The 29-year-old, now in his 11th season, still leads the team with 11 assists, 14 points, and five takeaways through eight games.

Injury Notes: Hurricanes, Maple Leafs, Blackhawks, Sharks

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Carolina Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour told Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News that K’Andre Miller could be back shortly, however, Jaccob Slavin could be absent for “a while”. Miller has not played since October 20th, but has been off to a great start in his Carolina tenure with four points in six games. Meanwhile, Slavin was placed on IR last week with a lower-body injury, appearing in the Canes’ first two games before going back down. The ailment has bothered the star defenseman throughout October, and the team has been vague on further details. 

Carolina has been great so far despite missing both defensemen, with a 6-2-0 record. Based on Brind’Amour’s comments, it seems a real possibility Miller could be all set when his Hurricanes go to Madison Square Garden to take on the Rangers next week, after an offseason blockbuster sent the talented 25-year-old to Carolina. 

Elsewhere across the league:

  • Nick Barden of The Hockey News Toronto updated earlier today that William Nylander and Calle Jarnkrok could play versus Calgary tomorrow, as both are dealing with lower-body injuries. Additionally, veterans Scott Laughton and Chris Tanev could rejoin the team later in the week ahead of Saturday’s tilt in Philadelphia. Nylander, who missed just his second regular season game since 2020-21, has dazzled with 14 points in 8 games so far. Laughton was injured in the preseason and has yet to debut in 2025-26, as he looks to get more comfortable as a Leaf, having put up just 4 points in 20 regular season games after being traded to Toronto. 
  • Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times shared this morning that two Blackhawks veterans, Ilya Mikheyev and Tyler Bertuzzi, did not appear at practice. Mikheyev left Sunday’s game versus Los Angeles after crashing hard into the boards. Thankfully, he is considered day-to-day as it appears a more serious issue was avoided. Meanwhile, Bertuzzi missed yesterday’s game altogether, and is also thought to be day-to-day. Chicago hosts Ottawa tomorrow, and they will hope to have their wingers back before long, as they try to stay above the .500 mark. 
  • Sunday’s big shootout win for the Sharks at Minnesota came at a cost, as Adam Gaudette left due to an upper body injury and did not return, as per the team. His status is unknown as San Jose hosts their in-state rival the Kings tomorrow night. The 29-year-old center has 3 goals in 9 games. 

Calle Järnkrok Listed As Questionable With Lower-Body Injury

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  • According to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun, forward Calle Järnkrok is questionable for the Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow night due to a lower-body injury. Järnkrok missed the team’s practice today and has dealt with lower-body injuries over the past few years. He’s registered three goals in eight games for the Maple Leafs this season, but has already sustained a -5 rating in the team’s middle-six.

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Maple Leafs Reassign Dennis Hildeby

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10/26/2025: As was expected due to the nature of yesterday’s call-up, the Maple Leafs announced Sunday morning that they reassigned Hildeby back to the AHL. Hildeby  backed up Primeau for the team’s 4-3 overtime victory over the Buffalo Sabres yesterday, and now returns to the AHL, where he’s expected to spend most of the season.

In Hildeby’s absence, Artur Akhtyamov started the Marlies’ game yesterday, saving 19 of 23 shots in a 4-2 loss to the Belleville Senators.

10/25/2025: Heading into the back half of a back-to-back set against Buffalo, the Maple Leafs have added some extra goalie depth.  The team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Dennis Hildeby has been recalled from AHL Toronto.

With Joseph Woll away from the team to start the season, it looked as if the 24-year-old would serve as the backup for Anthony Stolarz.  However, when they claimed Cayden Primeau off waivers at the end of training camp, that was the end of that idea as instead, Hildeby was sent down to the Marlies while Primeau served as the backup.

Hildeby hasn’t received much playing time with the Marlies either, getting into just two games where he has allowed just two goals on 53 shots.  Toronto has played just four AHL games in the early going with Hildeby splitting time with prospect Vyacheslav Peksa.

There isn’t a notable injury situation between the pipes for the Maple Leafs as instead, the plan is to simply give Stolarz a rest day after a heavy workload to start the season in Woll’s absence.  Toronto doesn’t have an open roster spot so it appears they’re using a CBA exception that allows them to bring up an extra goalie as a 24th player.  It’s something that can only be used twice in a season and for a maximum of 48 hours each time so Hildeby’s time with the big club will be short-lived as he’ll likely be sent back down following the game or sometime on Sunday.

Maple Leafs Attempted Summer Trade Of Nicholas Robertson

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Winger Nicholas Robertson will serve as a healthy scratch for the first time this season when the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. Robertson’s move out of the lineup comes after he recorded just one assist, and a minus-four, through the first four games of Toronto’s season. He’ll be replaced by rookie winger Easton Cowan, once again sparking concerns over Robertson’s ability to stick in the everyday lineup.

Those worries have led to plenty of trade rumors in the past. Now, it’s been revealed that the Leafs tried to bring those rumors to fruition this summer by offering Robertson to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for fellow trade-block winger Yegor Chinakhov, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in the latest 32 Thoughts article.

The move was ultimately rejected – for good reason. Chinakhov is a former first-round selection, going 21st-overall to Columbus in a shocking move at the 2020 NHL Draft. He’s since racked up 34 goals and 72 points in 178 games in the NHL. His best year so far came in 2023-24, when he scored 16 goals and 29 points in 53 games. Those numbers trump Robertson in both longevity and peak. A former second-round pick, Robertson has since recorded 57 points in 163 NHL games, with a single-season high of 27 points in 56 games also recorded in 2023-24.

Looking beyond the stats still favors Chinakhov in a direct matchup. Both players are volume shooters who don’t rack up many hits, blocks, or takeaways – but Chinakhov’s 6-foo-1, 200-pound frame helps him win space more frequently than the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Robertson. That imbalance would likely force Toronto to include an added incentive to swap the two wingers, which could have been the barrier that ended trade talks. Chinakhov also walked back his requests for a trade after a conversation with first-year Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason.

While news of a rejected trade won’t help Toronto moving forward, it does make the vision around Robertson’s market a bit clearer. He isn’t tempting enough to sit at the same value as other struggling, young wingers – surely in part thanks to his struggles to hold a nightly role. As he heads back to the press box for the first time this season, the Maple Leafs will no doubt continue their search for a change of scenery for their depth shooter. Robertson has averaged 16 goals and 29 points per 82 games played – modest numbers should if he can maintain them through an 82-game season.

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