- TSN’s Mark Masters is reporting that Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Conor Timmins practiced this morning in a normal jersey for the first time since September. The 25-year-old has yet to dress for the Maple Leafs this season after being sidelined with a lower-body injury during what was an impressive preseason as he collected six points in three preseason games and made a case for himself to be in Toronto’s top six. Last season the St. Catherines, Ontario native posted two goals and 12 assists in 27 NHL games.
Maple Leafs Rumors
Klingberg Returns After Missing Friday's Game Due To Injury
- John Klingberg’s injury-related absence was a short one. After not playing last night, Jonas Siegel of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that the veteran blueliner will suit up tonight against Vancouver, taking Simon Benoit’s spot in the lineup. It has been a rough start to Klingberg’s tenure with the Maple Leafs as the 31-year-old has just five assists in 13 games with some considerable struggles in his own end after being brought in to be a key offensive threat from the back end this summer.
Maple Leafs Recall Bobby McMann, Assign Pontus Holmberg To AHL
Following their shootout win over Calgary last night, the Maple Leafs have made a roster move up front in advance of their game against Vancouver tonight. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Bobby McMann from AHL Toronto while they have assigned center Pontus Holmberg back to the Marlies.
McMann was briefly on the NHL roster at the start of the season while on season-opening IR but cleared waivers as soon as he was activated. The 27-year-old has played in six AHL contests so far this season, picking up two goals and an assist.
Last season, McMann saw his first taste of NHL action, getting into ten games with the Maple Leafs where he had an assist and 17 hits while averaging 10:34 per night. While he was limited to just 30 games with the Marlies a year ago due to injury, McMann was quite productive, tallying 21 goals along with eight assists. If he can show any sort of that scoring touch on the NHL fourth line, he could stick around for a little while.
As for Holmberg, he has spent the bulk of the early going this season with the Maple Leafs, getting into seven games where he has been held off the scoresheet while logging a little under nine minutes per contest. The 24-year-old has a pair of points so far with AHL Toronto and will go back to playing a much bigger role for the Marlies for the time being.
Jake McCabe To Return From Groin Injury, John Klingberg Sidelined
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe will draw back into the lineup Friday against the Calgary Flames after missing six games with a groin injury, head coach Sheldon Keefe informed reporters today (via David Alter of Sports Illustrated). The shutdown defenseman is expected to factor in on the second pairing, playing on his off-side along 40-year-old veteran Mark Giordano.
Klingberg’s logged the worst defensive numbers of any Maple Leafs defender this season and will be looking for a reset once he gets back to full health. McCabe, meanwhile, has excelled this season in small increments away from Klingberg – his pairing with the now-injured Timothy Liljegren has been the Leafs’ best at controlling shot quality this season, posting an expected goals share of 58.1% in nearly 50 minutes together, per MoneyPuck.
Latest On John Klingberg
- Various reports from Toronto Maple Leafs practice, including from The Hockey News’ David Alter, indicate that defenseman John Klingberg is facing some time in the press box as a healthy scratch, assuming defenseman Jake McCabe returns. Klingberg, who the Maple Leafs signed to a one-year, $4.15MM deal this past summer, has struggled as of late, particularly in last night’s game against the Ottawa Senators. While he has five points in 13 games so far, his production rate remains below what Dallas Stars fans grew to be accustomed to during his time there. While there remains hope that Klingberg can return to that form, his early struggles combined with the Maple Leafs’ overall issues in keeping the puck out of their net are a storyline to watch during this early portion of the 2023-24 season.
Maple Leafs Recall Pontus Holmberg, Loan Maxime Lajoie To Minors
The Toronto Maple Leafs have swapped players with their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, recalling forward Pontus Holmberg and loaning out defenseman Maxime Lajoie, according to a team release.
Holmberg returns to the Maple Leafs after a brief stint in the minors. The team sent him down on Monday to make room for winger Nicholas Robertson to come up to the active roster.
The 24-year-old Swede has been a non-factor on the scoresheet this season, recording no points and a -2 rating in seven games with the Leafs. His possession numbers have dipped south from last year’s rookie season, posting a Corsi share of 42.5% at even strength while averaging 8:44 per game.
At the very least, Holmberg has been less of a liability than enforcer Ryan Reaves, who has no points and a -9 rating while playing in all 13 games this season. Summoning Holmberg from the minors could mean that Reaves, who signed a three-year, $4.05MM contract with the Leafs last summer, could be a healthy scratch for Friday’s game against the Calgary Flames. The Leafs’ depth posting poor possession metrics is a significant reason why Toronto has conceded 3.62 goals per game this season, the worst in the Atlantic Division.
Toronto can only carry two extra skaters on the active roster for the time being due to salary cap constraints, including injured defenseman Jake McCabe. Thus, someone had to head back to the Marlies to create cap space for Holmberg. Lajoie has made one appearance for the Maple Leafs this year after injuries sidelined McCabe and Timothy Liljegren, taking just nine shifts and skating 4:54 in a 6-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres last Saturday.
Lajoie, 26, is also without a point in seven games with the Marlies this season. He’s played in NHL games in each of the last six seasons but hasn’t come close to recapturing a full-time role since registering 15 points in 56 during his rookie season with the Ottawa Senators in 2018-19.
Timmins Remains A Few Weeks Away From Returning
Josh Yohe of The Athletic is reporting that Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry left their game last night against the Anaheim Ducks after being bumped in the back of the head by Adam Henrique and then having his mask dislodged. This was just the beginning for Jarry as he was then struck in his unprotected face by a Ryan Strome shot. NHL officials quickly signalled to the Penguins bench and Jarry was rushed off the ice and did not return.
Up to that point, Jarry had been solid for the Penguins making 21 consecutive stops to preserve a 1-0 Penguins lead late into the second period. With Jarry sidelined, the Penguins’ turned to their third-string netminder Magnus Hellberg who made 11 straight saves to maintain the rare two-goalie shutout.
No updates have been given yet on Jarry, but Yohe did report that he was present in the Penguins’ dressing room after the game, which is certainly an encouraging sign. Jarry has struggled to start the year after signing a massive five-year contract extension this summer that was heavily criticized for being too long and too expensive. The Penguins are already without backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic until later this month and can ill afford to lose Jarry for any length of time.
In other injury notes:
- Times Herald Reporter Bill Hoppe is reporting that Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens is back at practice today sporting a full-face shield as he makes his return to the ice after missing two games with an upper-body injury. No specifics have been given about Cozens injury but given that he is sporting face protection and a large bandage on his nose, it would appear to be an injury to that region. Cozens was engaged in a fight with Philadelphia Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway back on November 3rd, a game the Sabres lost 5-1, and acknowledged that this incident was the cause of the ailment. Cozens has three goals and four assists in 11 games thus far this season.
- David Alter of The Hockey News is reporting that Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Conor Timmins is unlikely to get back into the lineup for at least a couple of weeks. Alter spoke with Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe after Timmins practiced with the team this morning, Keefe told the reporter that Timmins will travel with the team to Sweden next week but is unlikely to play. However, the plan is to have him ramp up in practice and he could re-join the lineup after they return from the extended road trip. Timmins has been on LTIR since the beginning of the season after suffering a lower-body injury and has yet to play a game.
Jake McCabe Won't Return To Lineup Monday Against Lightning
- Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens is not practicing today as he remains sidelined with a suspected concussion, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports. Head coach Don Granato informed reporters that Cozens is trending in the right direction, however, and will likely rejoin the team for practice before the end of the week. Cozens, 22, has not skated with the team since leaving Friday’s loss to the Philadelphia Flyers after fighting winger Garnet Hathaway with 1:56 left in regulation. The 2019 seventh-overall pick is off to a decent start, recording three goals and four assists for seven points in 11 games on the heels of a 31-goal campaign last season. The news doesn’t bode well for Cozens’ availability against the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow, meaning he could miss his second straight game after being absent for Saturday’s win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
- Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe won’t return to the lineup tonight against Tampa Bay, head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed to reporters (via Mark Masters of TSN). Simon Benoit will make his Toronto debut after a recent recall from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, Keefe said. Consequentially, Maxime Lajoie will serve as a scratch after playing just 4:54 in Toronto’s loss to Buffalo on Saturday. McCabe has missed the last four games with a groin injury sustained against Dallas on October 26, and the team has gone 0-2-2 in his absence.
Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Nick Robertson
The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled top prospect Nicholas Robertson to the NHL lineup. This recall comes after Robertson’s red-hot start to the AHL season, where he’s scored 11 points in only nine games, good for a Top 20 spot in the league’s scoring.
Toronto is granted the roster spot to make this move thanks to the slew of injuries to their defense. They currently have four defensemen facing injuries, including Jake McCabe, who is the only one of the four to not be on injured reserve. Instead, he and fellow defenseman Maxime Lajoie have operated as the team’s two scratches. With so much roster attention needing to go to the defense, Toronto hasn’t been carrying an extra forward.
Robertson will seemingly step into that spot, although his hot start to the season could earn him a crack at the lineup. Robertson has played in 31 NHL games over the last three seasons, scoring three goals and seven points. Five of those points came in the 15 games he received last season; the most he’s played in a single NHL season. But injuries have proven detrimental to the 22-year-old winger, who missed most of the 2022-23 season with a shoulder injury. Now healthy once again, Robertson is looking to make up for lost time in his development curve and prove to the Leafs organization that he’s still the prospect that everyone was excited about following the 2019 NHL Draft.
Toronto is in need of some kind of spark. The team has 36 goals-for on the season, neatly ranking them 16th in the league. Nearly all of their scoring has come from the usual suspects, with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander being the only players to score over-10 points through the team’s first 11 games. Other than the star-studded quartet, four members of the Leafs’ bottom-six have fewer than two points – and two players have zero points – so far. Depth scoring has proven invaluable to recent Stanley Cup champions and will be a virtue that Toronto hopes Robertson can provide.
Jake McCabe, Conor Timmins Set To Return To Practice
- David Alter of The Hockey News is reporting that Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman, Jake McCabe, will return to practice with the team today. The team could certainly benefit from the return of his defensive prowess, as the team has lost four straight games since McCabe went down with a groin injury. It remains to be seen whether or not he will return to game action this week, as Toronto has an upcoming four-game homestand.
- Sticking with the Maple Leafs, similarly to McCabe, Mark Masters of TSN reports that Toronto defenseman, Conor Timmins, was seen skating today in practice. Working his way back from a lower-body injury, Timmins has been on long-term injured reserve since the beginning of the season. Although the Maple Leafs should have a full defensive unit upon his return, they could certainly improve upon the trio of Simon Benoit, William Lagesson, and Maxime Lajoie as their depth defenseman on the NHL roster.
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