- One goaltending prospect who is beginning to gain quite a bit of traction is Dennis Hildeby, currently rostered on the Toronto Marlies as a part of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. In his first full season in North America, Hildeby holds a 7-4-2 record in 13 games played for the Marlies, carrying a .921 SV% and a 2.18 GAA. In a report from this morning, the Marlies unexpectedly scratched Hildeby for the team’s game tonight, giving some indication he may be receiving a callup for his NHL debut shortly (X Link).
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Maple Leafs Rumors
Some Apparent Progress In Nylander's Extension Discussions
While the Maple Leafs locked up a key pending UFA back in August when they inked Auston Matthews to a four-year extension, they still have another member of their ‘core four’ to sign, winger William Nylander. In a recent TSN Insider Trading segment, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reported that the two sides seem to be on the same page on a number of fronts while Nylander has affirmed his desire to stay with Toronto long-term. Currently carrying a cap hit of just over $6.96MM, the 27-year-old has a chance to push past the $10MM mark on his next agreement. He had a career-high 87 points last season and is on pace for 119 as things currently stand this year.
Pontus Holmberg Loaned To Marlies
- The Maple Leafs have returned center Pontus Holmberg to AHL Toronto. It’s the third time he has been sent back down since Wednesday as Toronto has been shuffling him up and down quite frequently. The 24-year-old has an assist in eight games with the big club so far.
Fraser Minten Named Captain For Canada's World Junior Team
- Maple Leafs prospect Fraser Minten has been named captain of Canada’s World Junior team, per an announcement from Hockey Canada (Twitter link). The 19-year-old made his NHL debut this season, getting into a pair of games before being sent back to the WHL where he has since been traded. Canada has four players with at least one game of NHL experience; all four of them are among the players who will be among their group of captains.
Maple Leafs Have Examined Goalie Trade Market
The Maple Leafs have “dipped their toes” into the goaltender trade market in the wake of an injury to youngster Joseph Woll and poor play from the more experienced Ilya Samsonov, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Freidman reported on Hockey Night in Canada’s Saturday Headlines program.
Nothing is imminent, however, and Friedman says not to expect a deal without the first few days after the holiday roster freeze lifts next Wednesday. The Maple Leafs are reportedly intent on wanting to work with Samsonov and hope he can return to the true starter form he displayed last season.
Samsonov’s play has indeed been nightmarish this year. Through 14 games, he has a rather peculiar 5-2-5 record but a .871 SV% that ranks near the bottom of the league. His -11.5 goals saved above average are third-worst in the NHL, ahead of only Blackhawks youngster Arvid Söderblom (-12.6 GSAA) and Hurricanes backup Antti Raanta (-15.1 GSAA), the latter of whom was waived earlier this week.
While Samsonov has struggled with inconsistency since breaking into the league with the Capitals in 2019, few expected this significant drop-off from last season’s play. He started a career-high 40 contests, limited in part due to minor injuries and the fact he was viewed as the backup to two-time Stanley Cup champion Matt Murray heading into the season. Injuries and mediocrity plagued Murray’s brief time in Toronto, allowing Samsonov to take the starter’s crease. Murray remains on long-term injured reserve this season after undergoing hip surgery and is not expected to be available at any point.
He responded with a 27-10-5 record, .919 SV%, 2.33 GAA, and four shutouts, all career highs. In the postseason, he outdueled Lightning star Andrei Vasilevskiy in the crease and guided the Maple Leafs to their first playoff series win in the salary cap era. Unfortunately, an injury in Game 3 of the team’s second-round series against the Panthers ended his season, and the Maple Leafs bowed out in five games.
The Leafs, however, were not sold on a long-term extension for Samsonov – a restricted free agent last summer – given their tight salary cap situation. Samsonov elected for salary arbitration with the club, and he did not agree to an extension with the team before the hearing, resulting in a one-year, $3.55MM award that makes him an unrestricted free agent next summer. After this season’s struggles, it’s looked like the prudent choice.
While Toronto would prefer to rehabilitate Samsonov’s game, his one-year deal makes him an easier player to trade if they opt for an upgrade in the crease. The 25-year-old Woll is beginning to solidify himself as the team’s starter after posting a .915 SV% through 15 appearances, but he remains sidelined week-to-week with a high ankle sprain. He isn’t expected to miss a significant chunk of the season, though, so any move Toronto makes in the crease would be to find a better tandem partner or backup for Woll come playoff time.
A seller’s market makes a trade purely for short-term help undesirable. As Friedman notes, only a handful of teams have legitimate options of value in the crease available on the trade market, and inquiring teams have felt “extorted” by asking prices for targets, assumedly netminders like Ducks starter John Gibson and Canadiens tandem veteran Jake Allen.
One player who is not an option for NHL time this season is 22-year-old Swede Dennis Hildeby, who Friedman reports Toronto intends to keep in the minors to continue his development. The 2022 fourth-round pick is massive at 6-foot-7 and 223 pounds and has exploded for a .921 SV% and 7-4-2 record through 13 games with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in his first full season in North America.
The play of veteran call-up Martin Jones in the wake of Woll’s injury is also something to monitor. A handful of solid performances could make the Maple Leafs comfortable with what they have, especially given his notable postseason experience. Jones was in the crease for the San Jose Sharks’ only Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history in 2016 and led all playoff goalies with a .928 SV% in 2018, although he hasn’t been an above-average NHL option since.
Entering tonight’s games, however, Jones had a respectable .907 SV% and one shutout in five appearances, three of them starts. For a team consistently teetering against the salary cap’s Upper Limit, squeezing all they can out of Jones and his $875K cap hit is an appealing proposition for Toronto.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Maple Leafs Sign Noah Chadwick To Entry-Level Contract
The Maple Leafs signed defense prospect Noah Chadwick to a three-year, entry-level contract on Friday, the team announced. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Chadwick, 18, was Toronto’s sixth-round pick in the 2023 draft, hearing his name called with the 185th overall pick. He was the last of just three selections Toronto had and their only defenseman selected, following first-round pick Easton Cowan and fifth-round pick Hudson Malinoski.
While he already stands at 6-foot-4 and 201 pounds, size isn’t the first thing you’ll notice about Chadwick’s game. He carries some real puck-moving upside, notching 17 assists and 24 points in 30 games with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes this season. It’s a large step forward from last year’s 15 assists and 20 points in 67 games, a good sign for his NHL future.
He does use his frame effectively when boxing out opposing players in his own zone, although he’s not nearly as physical as one would think. He recorded just 16 penalty minutes in 67 games last season and is rarely a fighter or an instigator.
His solid start to 2023-24 has the Maple Leafs eyeing him as one of their higher-upside picks selected that late in the draft. A left-shot defender, Chadwick likely has the mobility and all-around IQ to play a solid second-pairing role if he hits his absolute highest ceiling. That is certainly a big “if” this early in his development, however.
While it’s likely too early to label him as a late-round gem, early returns are indeed promising. Since Chadwick will spend the remainder of the season in juniors (and likely all of next season), the contract will not begin until the 2025-26 season in all likelihood, unless he plays ten or more NHL games either this year or next. Signing him to his entry-level contract earlier and letting the deal slide allows the Maple Leafs to pay Chadwick signing bonuses both this season and in 2024-25 before the contract counts against their books, slightly lowering the eventual cap hit when the contract goes into effect.
Toronto Maple Leafs Reassign Maxime Lajoie
The Toronto Maple Leafs have reassigned defenseman Maxime Lajoie to their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. The move reduces Toronto’s active roster from a full 23-man unit to 22.
Lajoie, 26, heads back to the AHL after a stint in the NHL that included three games played and was mostly spent as a healthy scratch. His three games of action came during the team’s winning streak against the Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators, and New York Rangers, and saw him average a shade under 10 minutes of ice time per game.
The former Ottawa Senator has 74 career NHL games on his resume, although he’s better-known for his exploits in the AHL. The 2021-22 Calder Cup champion scored 11 goals and 45 points for the Chicago Wolves last season, ranking as one of the more productive blueliners in the AHL.
He was signed to bolster the Marlies’ defensive unit, acting as a key veteran piece for a squad hoping to contend for a Calder Cup. He’s been that experienced veteran addition so far this year, though his offensive production has not yet come in full force since he has just five points in 14 games. With this reassignment, Lajoie will have a shot to resume his AHL role as a crucial, productive two-way defenseman.
Auston Matthews, T.J. Brodie Sit Out Saturday With Illness
5:45 PM: The Toronto Maple Leafs have confirmed that Matthews and T.J. Brodie will both miss Saturday’s game with illness.
5:35 PM: Auston Matthews may be forced out of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Saturday night matchup with illness, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. The Leafs will kick off against the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7 P.M. ET – one of six games starting at that time. Matthews will be sitting out of his first game of the season if he misses Saturday night.
It’s an untimely absence for Matthews, who, with a pair of goals tonight, could have become the second-fastest Maple Leafs player to reach 25 goals in the modern era. He would have achieved the feat in 28 games, one shy of the 27 games it took Wendel Clark in 1993-94. Matthews will have another shot at the feat on Tuesday when Toronto returns home to face the New York Rangers.
Matthews is having another successful season in the NHL, although he doesn’t currently carry his usual title as the Leafs leading scorer. That instead belongs to William Nylander, who’s managed 38 points in 27 games this season. Matthews has only put up 35 points, although his NHL-leading 23 goals leads the team by a margin of nine. The 26-year-old Matthews is on a 70-goal pace through mid-December, looking to top the career-high of 60 goals that he recorded in 2021-22.
Brodie, also absent from Saturday’s matchup, is also missing his first game of the season. He has managed six points in his 27 appearances with the Leafs this season, averaging just over 22 minutes of ice time each night.
Does Toronto Need A Third Center Upgrade?
While the Maple Leafs have done well in the standings since moving Max Domi to center last month, Jonas Siegel of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that the third center spot should still be a key priority for GM Brad Treliving as he looks to add to his roster. Domi is up to 14 points on the season now after a slow start but it’s his defensive concerns that could be problematic come the postseason when mistakes become more magnified. David Kampf is a better fit on the fourth line than the third so if Domi isn’t able to shore up his defensive play, adding another middleman could be required by the trade deadline in March. Of course, Toronto is deep into LTIR so finding the money to do that and shore up their back end will be more difficult.
Maple Leafs To Activate Timothy Liljegren Off LTIR
The Maple Leafs will welcome back an important part of their back end tonight against Pittsburgh as defenseman Timothy Liljegren told reporters including David Alter of The Hockey News (Twitter link) that he’s ready to suit up, meaning Toronto will be activating him off LTIR.
The 24-year-old has missed the last six weeks with a lower-body injury sustained against Boston in early November. Before being injured, he was averaging over 19 minutes a night, the highest ATOI of his young career while he was seeing a fair bit of action in Toronto’s top four.
Offensively, he has been limited to just one assist but he also has 18 blocked shots and was averaging close to two minutes per night on the penalty kill before the injury. The Maple Leafs will certainly be happy to have a more defensive-oriented presence in their lineup. Postmedia’s Lance Hornby adds (Twitter link) that Liljegren could be partnered with Morgan Rielly tonight on the top pairing so he’ll be put into a big role quickly. That said, with T.J. Brodie (illness) listed as questionable, those pairings could be tweaked.
In order for Toronto to officially activate Liljegren off LTIR, they will first need to open up the cap space to do so. Today’s recall of Pontus Holmberg means they will be over the cap if they try to activate Liljegren.
They do have some options to get cap-compliant though. The easiest one is to send a defenseman down (one of Simon Benoit, Maxime Lajoie, or William Lagesson) which would get them just enough room. If Ryan Reaves is going to be out for more than ten games and 24 days, he could be placed on LTIR which would give them more than enough room to activate Liljegren. Alternatively, they could transfer Mark Giordano to LTIR retroactively; he’d be eligible to return on December 23rd in that scenario. However, he is skating and if they feel he’s ready to return before then, that might not be the best route to go. Either way, a roster move will be coming in order to get Liljegren in the lineup tonight.