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Auston Matthews Out Three Weeks With Knee Sprain

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The Toronto Maple Leafs will be missing their best player for the next little while, as Auston Matthews is expected to miss a minimum of three weeks with a knee sprain. The injury was suffered against the New York Rangers on Wednesday night. This would also rule Matthews out for the All-Star festivities next week.

There were a number of hard hits delivered by the Rangers earlier this week, though there is no clear answer as to when Matthews sustained the injury. The star center still played nearly 22 minutes in the game, blocking three shots and delivering four shots on net.

In his place, rookie Pontus Holmberg was skating between Calle Jarnkrok and William Nylander, while John Tavares assumes top-line duty. The lack of offensive center depth is a concern for the Maple Leafs, and potentially could become an area of focus at the upcoming trade deadline.

It has been a frustrating season for Matthews, who has missed a handful of games with undisclosed injuries, and isn’t scoring at quite the same pace he is used to. Though he does have 53 points in 47 games, just 25 of those are goals. It would be the first time in his career that he finished with more assists than goals, should that trend continue.

Even more surprising is his lack of even-strength scoring, an area he has dominated throughout his career. In four of Matthews’ six seasons, he has led the league in even-strength goals, including last year when he potted 44 of them. Just 15 tallies this year have come at even strength, with his shooting percentage much lower than his career norm.

Some have speculated that other injuries have disrupted that timing all season, so perhaps Maple Leafs fans will see this time away with a bit of a silver lining. If on his return, Toronto gets the fully-recovered 60-goal superstar that won the Hart Trophy last season, a three-week absence will be a fine price to pay.

In his place at the All-Star game will be Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers.

Toronto Maple Leafs Hoping To Extend Conor Timmins

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When the Toronto Maple Leafs traded for Conor Timmins, he was barely an NHL player. The Arizona Coyotes were going to waive the oft-injured defenseman, to try and get him to the minor leagues so that he could ramp up his game. After all, the 24-year-old had played just 105 total games since the end of the 2017-18 season.

Since joining the Maple Leafs, though, Timmins has been excellent. While there has still been the odd moment of rust (including a couple of egregious giveaways), the young defenseman has racked up 12 points in 17 games, including his first NHL goal. Playing just over 16 minutes a night, he has fit in exceedingly well in Toronto.

So well, in fact, that the Maple Leafs are now looking to extend him before he reaches restricted free agency this summer according to Chris Johnston on TSN’s Insider Trading. Timmins is currently on a two-year deal that carries a cap hit of $850K, and would need a qualifying offer of $997,500 for the Maple Leafs to retain his rights.

Critically, because he has played so few games because of injury, Timmins won’t be eligible for arbitration this summer. That takes away a lot of his leverage, and makes an extension more likely. The Maple Leafs can reward him with some multi-year security, and lock him into a reasonable cap hit through his remaining RFA years. They could even go longer, into his UFA seasons, though Timmins would be essentially betting against his own health at that point. With the kind of production he has shown so far, there would be a big payday down the road if he can stay on the ice regularly.

Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Joey Anderson

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On December 10, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said he would give Joey Anderson some run with the NHL club, to see if he could handle regular duty on the fourth line. A few games later he found himself out of the lineup and back in the minor leagues.

Now, the 24-year-old has been recalled and appears set to return to Toronto’s lineup. He practiced on the fourth line, and Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun reports that Zach Aston-Reese will come out to keep a healthy competition for minutes between the team’s depth forwards.

Anderson has been one of the Toronto Marlies’ best players again this year, scoring 14 goals and 27 points in 30 games. But that kind of production has never followed him to the NHL, where he has just 14 points in 65 career games.

As Toronto approaches the trade deadline, many are expecting them to upgrade the second-line left wing spot beside John Tavares, which has been something of a rotating cast for the last few seasons. Calle Jarnkrok is currently there, but has never really produced at a top-six level. If the team does make an addition, Jarnkork will likely drop down and push one of those depth forwards out of the lineup.

The competition is only going to get tougher from here, meaning if Anderson has any hope of establishing himself in the NHL this season, he’ll need to make an impact right away.

Anton Blidh, Dryden Hunt Clear Waivers

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Jan 23: Both players have cleared waivers, meaning they can be assigned to the minor leagues.

Jan 22: Two players will be on today’s waiver wire, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The Colorado Avalanche have waived forward Anton Blidh, while the Toronto Maple Leafs have waived forward Dryden Hunt.

Blidh lands on waivers for the second time this season after clearing them before the start of the regular season. After signing a one-year, two-way deal to join the Avalanche last offseason, Blidh has made 13 NHL appearances as injuries have stricken the team’s forward corps. He’s yet to get on the scoresheet.

If Blidh clears, he’ll return to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. There, he has six goals, three assists, and nine points in 23 games. While he’s never been an offensive force in the minors, the 2013 sixth-round pick was brought to Colorado to provide a hard-nosed depth option, similar to the role Nicolas Aube-Kubel held last year.

Hunt, on the other hand, now runs the risk of suiting up for his fourth NHL team just this season. Waived by the New York Rangers a week into the season, he was claimed by the Avalanche to serve as an upgrade over Blidh’s role. After scoring once in 25 games with Colorado, he was dealt to the Maple Leafs in exchange for forward Denis Malgin.

With just one point (a goal) in nine games with the Leafs, though, the organization has opted to try and sneak him through waivers. Hunt was a full-time NHLer last season with the Rangers, recording 17 points in 76 games. He’s in the final year of a two-year contract carrying a cap hit of $762,500.

 

Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Pontus Holmberg

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With Dryden Hunt on waivers, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Pontus Holmberg from the minor leagues. The young forward was sent there to get his legs back after a recent illness, and ended up registering two points in three games.

After a rather embarrassing loss to their rivals on Saturday night, the Maple Leafs will try to get things moving back in the right direction with a game against the New York Islanders tonight. Holmberg will likely be back in the lineup, given how well he has stabilized the bottom six this year.

The sixth-round pick looks like he is a classic late-bloomer, who became a star in Sweden before quickly making an impact for Toronto this year. In 28 games he has 11 points and has been excellent defensively.

With Hunt ticketed for the minors (or another team), the group may also be getting some reinforcements back on defense. T.J. Brodie is set to stay out with the main group for morning skate, according to Mark Masters of TSN. Brodie is working his way back from a rib injury and is currently on injured reserve.

Maple Leafs Have Shown Interest In Jake McCabe

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With veteran defenseman Jake Muzzin out indefinitely and with it not appearing as if he will be back anytime soon, there has been an expectation that the Maple Leafs will look outside the organization to try to shore up their back end.  It appears one of the options they’re interested in is Blackhawks blueliner Jake McCabe, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (video link).

The 29-year-old is in his second season with Chicago after spending his first eight NHL seasons with Buffalo.  While McCabe isn’t known for his point production (the 22 he had last season stands as his career-high), he has been a quality defensive defender that can block shots and play with a physical edge which are some of the elements that Muzzin was bringing to the table for Toronto prior to his cervical spine injury.

McCabe has two seasons left on his contract after this one that carries a $4MM AAV.  On the surface, it would be difficult to see McCabe fitting into Toronto’s salary structure but there are a couple of ways it could potentially work.  The first would be convincing Chicago to retain part of the contract to help make the money work; teams can retain up to 50% in a trade.  However, getting them to hold back that much would undoubtedly make the acquisition cost considerably higher, especially with the term left on the deal.

The other option is one that they’ll have to wait on for a while.  Muzzin is expected to be re-evaluated at some point next month and if they get word that the veteran won’t be back at all this season, Toronto could then fit McCabe’s full AAV into their LTIR pool which includes Muzzin’s $5.625MM AAV.  There would still be some questions about making the money work beyond 2022-23, however, barring some sort of indication that Muzzin’s injury is going to continue to linger.

Worth noting is that McCabe also has a seven-team no-trade clause.  While Seravalli notes that the majority of those no-trade teams are Canadian franchises, the Maple Leafs appear to be the one exception which would suggest that he’s amenable to joining them.

Again, with Muzzin’s situation, this isn’t a move that the Maple Leafs will be able to make until they get some further clarity on their veteran.  But that doesn’t stop them from exploring their options in the meantime and McCabe is certainly an interesting target to help replace a lot of what Muzzin brought to the table when he was healthy.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

No Update On Status Of Jake Muzzin

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  • The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t given any update on the status of injured defenseman Jake Muzzin, and Chris Johnston explained on TSN’s Insider Trading yesterday that there has been no movement toward a return to play. When he went down to a cervical spine injury, the team explained that he would be re-evaluated in February. Clarity on his status will be important, given the Maple Leafs’ cap situation. If Muzzin misses the rest of the year, they can continue to use his $5.625MM cap hit for a replacement.

Rasmus Sandin Set To Return; T.J. Brodie Skates Again

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  • The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to have Rasmus Sandin back in the mix, as he took a regular shift at morning skate. The young defenseman had been out with an illness the last few games. The health of the Toronto blueline will be something to watch in the coming weeks, as they determine if they have enough depth at the position. T.J. Brodie, who has been sidelined for a while, was on the ice again before the rest of the group, according to David Alter of Sports Illustrated.

Toronto Maple Leafs Reassign Pontus Holmberg

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One of the bright spots this season for the Toronto Maple Leafs has been the emergence of Pontus Holmberg as a legitimate NHL option so early into his North American career. After missing the last few games with an illness, though, the team has reassigned the young forward to the minor leagues. The move likely will give him a chance to get back into game shape before returning to the NHL squad down the road.

Holmberg, 23, was a sixth-round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2018, but quickly became one of the most successful players in the SHL. By last season, he was scoring near a point-per-game pace with Vaxjo HC, took home Swedish forward of the year, and was SHL playoff MVP after leading the postseason in goals and points.

After just 15 games in the minor leagues, where he racked up eight points, he was with the Maple Leafs, taking a regular shift and scoring 11 points in 28 games. For a team so heavily invested in their top players, entry-level performers are critical. Holmberg will likely be back with the NHL club at some point, though it may not be for a little while. The Toronto Marlies are headed out on a long road trip and won’t play another home game until February. Holmberg obviously doesn’t need to stay with the team for that entire stretch, but the team may want to let him get back into the swing of things with several minor league tilts.

Nick Robertson, Mac Hollowell Undergo Surgery

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that Nick Robertson and Mac Hollowell have both undergone surgery. Robertson’s procedure was to his shoulder, and will keep him out for the next six months. Hollowell had a procedure on a fractured kneecap and will be out a minimum of 12 weeks.

It’s a brutal blow for Robertson, who has not been able to stay healthy in his pro career. The undersized forward (and younger brother of Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson) has now played just 82 total games over the last three seasons. That’s at all levels, with just 31 of them coming with the Maple Leafs.

For a player who scored 55 goals in 46 games during his post-draft year, there were huge expectations for the 2019 second-rounder. He made his NHL debut during the Maple Leafs’ 2020 bubble playoffs, and scored his first goal. But injuries have kept him off the ice since then, and inconsistent playing time has limited him to just seven NHL points.

By the time he’s ready to return next season, he’ll be 22 and quite removed from that exceptional junior season. There’s no telling whether Robertson will ever be able to live up to the potential he showed, given how much time he has missed.

Hollowell, meanwhile, made his NHL debut this season and recorded two assists in six games for the Maple Leafs. The fourth-round pick had progressed steadily through the system and appeared to have climbed considerably up the organizational depth chart.

Now, with a 12-week recovery timeline, it seems likely that he won’t get any more NHL time this season. As a restricted free agent this summer eligible for arbitration, he needs a new deal. After missing so much time, it might end up being prudent for him to accept a qualifying offer and hope to rebound from a tough injury.

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