- Maple Leafs forward Max Domi is expected to make his preseason debut tonight, relays Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun. The veteran has been hampered by a lower-body injury through the first week of camp, holding him out of the lineup in their first three games. While he spent a lot of time at center last season, it’s expected that he will get a look on the right wing on the top line when the regular season gets underway. Domi had just eight goals and 25 assists in 74 games last season, the second-lowest point total of his career.
Maple Leafs Rumors
Stolarz Eyeing Five-Year Comparables, Toronto's Preference Is Fewer Years
Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz has made it known that he doesn’t want to work on a contract extension in-season, meaning the time to get a new deal in place is running out. Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports (video link) that the netminder’s camp is looking at recent five-year deals for Kevin Lankinen ($4.5MM) and Karel Vejmelka ($4.75MM) as potential comparables while Toronto’s preference is to do something shorter term. Stolarz is coming off a stellar season that saw him post a 2.14 GAA and a .926 SV% in 34 games but even though he’s 31, he has just 142 career NHL games under his belt and has never played more than those 34 games in a single season. That makes finding legitimate comparable players a little trickier but regardless of that, he’s well on his way to a big raise on the $2.5MM he’ll make this season.
Maple Leafs’ Marshall Rifai Needs Wrist Surgery
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.
Maple Leafs Sign James Reimer To PTO
The Maple Leafs have signed veteran netminder James Reimer to a professional tryout, per a club announcement.
If it results in a contract, it could end up being a bookend to the 37-year-old’s NHL career. Reimer was a fourth-round pick by the Leafs back in 2006 and broke into the NHL with them four years later. He spent nearly six full seasons with the Leafs, spending a good chunk of that time in tandem with Jonathan Bernier, before being dealt to the Sharks at the 2016 trade deadline to kick off the journeyman portion of his career. His first go-around with Toronto saw him post an 85-76-23 record, .914 SV%, 2.83 GAA, and 11 shutouts in 207 appearances. He guided the club to its only playoff appearance of the Phil Kessel era and was excellent in a seven-game loss to the Bruins in the first round in 2013, logging a .923 SV% in that series.
He rejoins the organization now as much-needed depth after the club announced earlier this week that Joseph Woll had taken a personal leave and would be out indefinitely. Behind Woll’s tandem partner, Anthony Stolarz, the Leafs had only six games of NHL experience in their goaltending pipeline – all belonging to third-stringer Dennis Hildeby last season. Reimer’s 525 career games are more than twice the combined total of every available Toronto goalie at the moment.
Of course, Reimer is no longer the serviceable 30-to-40-start netminder he was for the Leafs a decade ago. He’s a fine backup option now, but hasn’t posted an above-average save percentage in each of the last three seasons. He made 21 starts and three relief appearances last year between the Ducks and Sabres, spending a good portion of the season as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s No. 2 in Buffalo. He compiled a 10-10-2 record with a .896 SV% and 3.04 GAA with one shutout. While those are below-average numbers on the surface, he ended up with a whopping 8.0 goals saved above expected thanks to some porous Sabres defensive performances in front of him, according to MoneyPuck. That ranked 25th in the league last year.
That latter number means he could be an intriguing stopgap for a Leafs squad that squeezed the best out of Stolarz and Woll last season. If Woll ends up missing extended time, he could be lined up to get more than the 1-in-4 workload he’s seen over the past couple of years with Stolarz untested past the 30-game range in a season.
Marshall Rifai Leaves Game Due To Upper-Body Injury
Things are not going well for the Montreal Canadiens’ defense in their preseason contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs this evening. After failing to appear on the bench for the third period of tonight’s game, the Canadiens announced that recently acquired Noah Dobson will not return, without specifying any injuries.
- On the flip side of tonight’s contest, the Maple Leafs are also dealing with injury concerns on their blue line. During the game, Toronto announced that Marshall Rifai was removed due to an upper-body injury. Unlike his opponent counterparts, it was unlikely that Rifai would have cracked the Maple Leafs’ opening night roster regardless of availability. The Beaconsfield, Quebec native spent all of last year with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, scoring three goals and 13 points in 67 contests.
Joseph Woll Taking Indefinite Leave Of Absence
Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll has taken a personal leave of absence to attend to a family matter, general manager Brad Treliving told reporters Tuesday, including David Alter of The Hockey News. There’s no timeline for his return, and he may be unavailable for the start of the regular season as a result.
That could be a potentially significant blow to the Leafs to start the season. After working his way into the NHL full-time in 2023-24, Woll delivered a good showing as Toronto’s 1B option behind Anthony Stolarz in 2024-25, posting a .909 SV% and 2.73 GAA while compiling a 27-14-1 record in 41 starts and one relief appearance. That’s the fourth time in four NHL seasons that the 27-year-old has posted comfortably above-average stats. He’s got a .910 SV% and 2.74 GAA in 78 career appearances, translating to 19.8 goals saved above average.
“No additional details will be provided at this time, and we ask that [Woll’s] privacy be respected,” the club said in a statement. Treliving specified that Woll’s absence is not a substance abuse-related matter, Alter said.
The starter’s load could be squarely on the injury-prone Stolarz’s shoulders to begin the season as a result. Performance isn’t a concern – he’s led the league in save percentage in back-to-back years – but availability is. Stolarz’s 34 starts last year marked a career high. The pending unrestricted free agent missed 24 games in the middle of the season due to knee surgery.
If Woll remains unavailable at the start of the regular season, it will be Dennis Hildeby getting a crack at being Stolarz’s backup as things stand. The 24-year-old Swede is entering his fourth season in North America and made his NHL debut last year. He didn’t impress in his six starts, managing a 3-3-0 record but posting subpar individual play with a .872 SV% and 3.33 GAA. He’s coming off back-to-back strong showings with AHL Toronto and was an All-Star in that league in 2023-24, though, so there’s still some evident upside in giving the 6’7″, 224-lb netminder another NHL crack.
Regardless, it’s likely that Treliving would peruse the waiver wire or explore trade acquisitions if Woll’s absence stretches past a few games. There are no other NHL-experienced goaltenders under contract in Toronto other than Stolarz and Hildeby, and adding one should be a preemptive concern, with Stolarz’s durability not a given.
Maple Leafs Camp Notes: Domi, Roy, Benoit
The Toronto Maple Leafs received a wave of positive injury updates on Sunday morning. The good news kicked off when winger Max Domi stepped onto the ice for the first time in training camp, captured by TSN’s Mark Masters. Domi joined the Leafs’ non-playing group, indicating that he won’t be a part of the team’s first preseason game later in the day.
Domi has been dealing with a lower-body injury sustained during off-season training. The injury has been dubbed minor, with Domi designated as day-to-day, but its nonetheless become a focal point of camp as many expect Domi to take on a top-six role. With Sunday’s practice, he’ll take the first step towards vindicating those expectations – and break camp in a top-line wing role vacated by Mitch Marner earlier this summer. Domi scored eight goals and 33 points last season, though he also managed 47 points in his first year with the Leafs in 2023-24.
Other notes from Toronto’s camp:
- Also returning to the practice sheet was recently-acquired forward Nicolas Roy, who sat out of the team’s Saturday skate with a lower-body injury, per Masters. Roy is another candidate for a growing role in the Toronto lineup, after being acquired as the sweetener in Toronto’s sign-and-trade of Marner with the Vegas Golden Knights. Roy scored 15 goals and 31 points with Vegas last season, and 41 points in the year prior. He’s a toolsy forward who can fill a role at center or right-wing. That standing could help him earn a pivotal role behind Auston Matthews and John Tavares, or an important grinder role beside them.
- Away from the positives, defenseman Simon Benoit was absent from yet another practice on Sunday. He is facing an upper-body injury, per David Alter of The Hockey News. Head coach Craig Berube shared that the Leafs will be taking all of their injuries day-by-day, though he didn’t mention Benoit’s injury or prognosis directly, per Alter’s colleague Nick Barden. Benoit played through 78 games in a Leafs uniform last season. He tied his career-high in scoring with 10 points, to go with 59 penalty minutes and a plus-12 on the full year. Benoit is a strong candidate to fill a daily, bottom-pair role this season – though an extended injury at camp will give newcomers like Henry Thrun and Dakota Mermis a chance to catch up. Both Thrun and Mermis will take the ice for Toronto’s first preseason game on Sunday.
Training Camp Cuts: 9/20/25
The preseason officially gets underway tonight and that will usually spur a round of training camp cuts around the league with players typically getting loaned back to their respective junior or international clubs. We’ll keep tabs on today’s cuts here. The remaining players can be found on our Training Camp Rosters page.
Anaheim Ducks (per team announcement)
F Emil Guite (to Chicoutimi, QMJHL)
F Maxim Masse (to Chicoutimi, QMJHL)
D Alexis Mathieu (to Baie-Comeau, QMJHL)
F Ethan Procyszyn (to North Bay, OHL)
F Noah Read (to London, OHL)
D Tarin Smith (to Everett, WHL)
F Brady Turko (to Brandon, WHL)
D Darels Uljanskis (to Flint, OHL)
Calgary Flames (per team announcement)
F Nathan Brisson (to Val-d’Or, QMJHL)
F Mael Lavigne (to Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL)
F Kadon McCann (to Medicine Hat, WHL)
Detroit Red Wings (per team release)
D Nicklas Andrews (released from PTO to Toledo, ECHL)
F Kevin Bicker (to Frankfurt, DEL)
F Vincent Collard (released from ATO to Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL)
D Maxim Dirracolo (released from ATO to Kitchener, OHL)
D Wyatt Kennedy (released from ATO to Windsor, OHL)
F Liam Kilfoil (released from ATO to Halifax, QMJHL)
D Carl-Otto Magnusson (released from ATO to Moncton, QMJHL)
G Landon Miller (to Soo, OHL)
D Will Murphy (to Cape Breton, QMJHL)
G Michal Pradel (to Tri-City, USHL)
F Grayden Robertson-Palmer (to Moncton, QMJHL)
New York Rangers (per team release)
F Raoul Boilard (to Shawinigan, QMJHL)
D Artyom Gonchar (to Sudbury, OHL)
F Gavin Hain (to Hartford, AHL)
F Kyle Jackson (to Hartford, AHL)
F Zakary Karpa (to Hartford, AHL)
D Tim Lovell (released from PTO)
F Sullivan Mack (to Hartford, AHL)
D Chris Merisier-Ortiz (to Hartford, AHL)
D Cooper Moore (to Hartford, AHL)
G Hugo Ollas (to Hartford, AHL)
D Evan Passmore (to Barrie, OHL)
G Callum Tung (to Hartford, AHL)
D Corbin Vaughan (released from ATO)
Toronto Maple Leafs (per team announcement)
D Rylan Fellinger (to Flint, OHL)
F Matthew Hlacar (to Kitchener, OHL)
F Tyler Hopkins (to Kingston, OHL)
D Nathan Mayes (to Spokane, WHL)
F Sam McCue (to Brantford, OHL)
F Harry Nansi (to Owen Sound, OHL)
Benoit And Roy Dealing With Injuries, Domi To Return Sunday
The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Simon Benoit is dealing with an upper-body injury while center Nicolas Roy has a lower-body injury. Neither player took part in practice today while goaltender Joseph Woll was also absent due to illness. Benoit was a regular on Toronto’s third pairing last season while Roy is likely to break camp as their third-line center after being acquired from Vegas just before free agency opened up.
Meanwhile, there is some good news on injury front for the Maple Leafs as well. Head coach Craig Berube told reporters including Nick Barden of The Hockey News that forward Max Domi is expected to rejoin the team for practice on Sunday. He has yet to take part in training camp due to a lower-body injury. This could be a big camp for Domi with a spot on Toronto’s top line up for grabs following Mitch Marner’s departure and as their roster stands, he’s one of the players who could have a shot at that spot.
Laughton Ready To Move Past Disappointing Season
- Last trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs sent a 2027 first-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for center Scott Laughton, only to see the veteran score two goals and four points in 20 games, with another two assists in 13 playoff contests. In a recent interview with David Alter of The Hockey News, Laughton recognized his poor play last season and is coming into the 2025-26 campaign more inspired to contribute, saying, “I need to be able to contribute offensively and create that way and help out some of those top guys.“
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