- The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled netminder Martin Jones from their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, once again on an emergency basis. The team had originally sent Jones back down to the AHL, but with regular netminder Ilya Samsonov still not well enough to back up Joseph Woll it appears Toronto will need Jones’ services in the NHL for a little while longer. Jones has a .870 save percentage through five games with the Marlies so far this season.
Maple Leafs Rumors
Samsonov Returns To Practice, Departs Early
Per a team announcement, the AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Marlies, announced they have signed defenseman Cameron Gaunce to a professional tryout. Already a solid defensive team sitting at 10th in the AHL in terms of goals against, Gaunce’s experience on the blue line should help strengthen the Marlies defensive core even more.
- After having missed a few games due to an illness, goaltender for the Maple Leafs, Ilya Samsonov, has made his return to practice. Unfortunately, Samsonov did not make it through the full practice and had to depart early (X Link). It may not mean much, however, as Toronto had already loaned goaltender Martin Jones back to the AHL this morning, meaning the team may have good enough confidence that he will still be available for the team’s game on Thursday.
Giordano Out 4-6 Weeks With Broken Finger
- Having been out of the lineup since November 28th, it appears that the Toronto Maple Leafs will be without defenseman Mark Giordano for quite some time. In a report earlier today, Kevin Weekes of ESPN indicated that Giordano suffered a broken finger in the team’s game against the Florida Panthers, and will be out for four to six weeks. Already having rumored interest in several defensemen on the trade market, Toronto will likely be even more incentivized to make a move soon knowing that Giordano will be out for at least a month.
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Ilya Samsonov Remains Out With Illness
- Ilya Samsonov was absent from Toronto Maple Leafs practice today as he’s still dealing with an illness. Samsonov’s illness led to veteran Martin Jones being recalled on an emergency basis, and he backed up Joseph Woll for last night’s game against the Boston Bruins. Since the Maple Leafs next play Thursday, one would assume that Samsonov will be ready to play by then, although we obviously do not have official confirmation of that timeline.
Maple Leafs Eager To Acquire, Extend Chris Tanev
In a longer review of the rumors circulating around the Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames defenseman, Chris Tanev, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes that if the Maple Leafs acquire Tanev, they may look to sign him rather quickly to an extension (Link). Being a native of Toronto, Tanev may take a discount to finish his career with his hometown team. Still, at his age, and with more important internal free agents on the horizon, it may be difficult for the Maple Leafs to make it work.
Although Tanev could significantly improve the Maple Leafs’ defense, with William Nylander, Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and T.J. Brodie, among others, set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, signing Tanev to an extension could become close to impossible. It is not a foregone conclusion that Toronto will sign all these players to extensions, or even that they are interested in resigning all of them, but the Maple Leafs should be trying to keep their cap situation as open as possible for next summer.
Maple Leafs Still Waiting For Update On Klingberg's Injury
Last weekend, it was suggested that the Maple Leafs would have further clarity on John Klingberg’s undisclosed injury. Namely, they need to know if he will need potential season-ending surgery. Speaking with reporters today including Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link), head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that they have not received an update on the veteran’s status just yet. Klingberg’s $4.15MM cap hit is currently on LTIR, giving Toronto short-term cap flexibility. However, they can’t realistically use that money to go out and acquire a replacement for him if they know he’s going to be back before the end of the season; they’d have to be cap-compliant in order to activate him. Accordingly, until they know more about Klingberg, GM Brad Treliving will be quite limited in what he can try to do to add to an injury-riddled back end.
Maple Leafs Recall Martin Jones On Emergency Basis
With Ilya Samsonov being unavailable for tonight’s game against Boston due to illness, the Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled goaltender Martin Jones from AHL Toronto on an emergency basis. He will back up Joseph Woll against the Bruins.
The 33-year-old played in 48 games last season with Seattle, posting a 2.99 GAA but his save percentage was just .887, a career low. As a result, interest was limited in Jones on the open market as he had to wait more than a month to find a contract, eventually signing a one-year, $875K deal with the Maple Leafs to serve as injury insurance. For his career, Jones has a 2.71 GAA and a .905 SV% in 444 NHL appearances over parts of ten seasons.
With a couple of teams looking for goalie depth at the end of training camp, it came as a bit of a surprise that Jones ultimately went through waivers unclaimed with Toronto assigning him to the Marlies soon after. Jones has been in a three-goalie rotation with them this season and has played in just five games so far, putting together a 3.37 GAA with a .870 SV%. It’s his first action at the AHL level since the 2013-14 campaign when he got into 22 games with AHL Manchester. With Samsonov likely just being day-to-day with this illness, it’s likely that Jones’ NHL stint will be a short-lived one.
Toronto Wanted To Acquire Both Zadorov, Tanev
- Although being acquired by the Vancouver Canucks a little while ago, there was another team extremely interested in adding Nikita Zadorov to their blue line. Kevin Weekes of ESPN reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs were interested in acquiring both Zadorov and Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames in one trade, giving the indication that the Maple Leafs will be adding a notable defenseman in some form or another by the trade deadline.
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Injury Notes: San Jose Sharks, Conor Sheary, Timothy Liljegren
San Jose Sharks winger Alexander Barabanov returned to the team’s practice for the first time since his October 24th finger injury. Barbanov did not take part in line rushes during the team skate, suggesting that he still isn’t ready to return just yet. The Sharks were also without top winger Tomas Hertl at the Thursday practice. Hertl has been out of action since November 25th with a mid-body injury.
The loss of the wingers is a hit to the Sharks forward group. Hertl substantially leads the team in points, scoring four goals and 16 points through his first 21 games. Fabian Zetterlund, who has nine points in 22 games, ranks second on the team in scoring – significantly behind Hertl. And while Barabanov has gone without a point through the six games he’s managed this season, he did record 15 goals and 47 points in 68 games last year – adding 20 penalty minutes and a -30. His point totals ranked fifth on the 2022-23 Sharks.
Other injury notes around the league:
- Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper shared that Conor Sheary is working closer to a return. Tampa is gearing up for a six-game road trip that begins in Nashville and then takes the team across the Northwest, beginning on December 7th. Cooper said that Sheary will likely play at some point on the road trip, albeit likely one of the later games.
- Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe shared that Timothy Liljegren has returned to on-ice activities but isn’t yet close to a return. Liljegren has been out since November 2nd with an ankle injury. The 24-year-old defenseman has appeared in 10 games this season, notching one assist and a -1. He totaled six goals and 18 points in 67 games last season.
Maple Leafs Recall Maxime Lajoie, Mark Giordano Out Week-To-Week
10:30 a.m.: Giordano is now listed as week-to-week, head coach Sheldon Keefe informed reporters this morning (via Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN). He’ll miss significantly more time than just tonight’s contest, meaning Lajoie will likely stick around on the NHL roster for quite a while. Expect the Maple Leafs to paper him up and down from the AHL in the coming days to extend his waiver-exempt status.
9:34 a.m.: The Maple Leafs recalled defenseman Maxime Lajoie from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies Thursday morning, per a team announcement. He comes to the NHL roster after Mark Giordano sustained a hand injury in Tuesday’s shootout win over the Panthers.
Giordano has not been placed on IR. He’s only been ruled out of tonight’s contest against the Kraken at a minimum, and it’s unclear how much additional time (if any) he’ll miss. With ample cap space for a recall, given they have $3.1MM remaining of LTIR relief, no corresponding transaction needs to be made to bring Lajoie up to the NHL.
Lajoie is not expected to draw into the lineup tonight. Instead, he’ll likely serve as a healthy scratch while Simon Benoit and Conor Timmins comprise Toronto’s third pairing. William Lagesson is projected to slide into top-four duties to play alongside Jake McCabe, Jonas Siegel of The Athletic relays. John Klingberg and Timothy Liljegren remain on long-term injured reserve.
This is Lajoie’s second recall of the season after signing a one-year, two-way deal with the Maple Leafs in free agency and subsequently clearing waivers in October. The 26-year-old has 71 NHL games to his name, although he’s failed to play over ten games in a season since his 56-game rookie campaign with the Senators in 2018-19.
A strong skater and minor-league point producer, Lajoie spent the last three seasons in the Hurricanes organization, primarily with their AHL affiliate at the time, the Chicago Wolves. Last season, he captained the squad and posted 11 goals, 34 assists, 45 points, and a -2 rating in 63 games.
His start in the Maple Leafs organization has been underwhelming, recording five assists and a +4 rating through 14 games. Lajoie’s lone NHL appearance in 2023-24 came November 4 against the Sabres, recording a -1 rating, one shot attempt, and one hit in just 4:54 of ice time. He will not need waivers to return to the Marlies if his recall lasts less than 25 days and he plays less than nine games.