The Toronto Maple Leafs have dealt with a pile of injuries and it seems that a new player is on injury reserve every next day. Earlier in the month, superstar Auston Matthews was listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. However, the team and the player won’t reveal any specifics about the injury. What is known is that the Leafs captain is currently seeking treatment in Munich, Germany. Meanwhile, fans are scratching their heads about how a day-to-day injury has stretched out into nearly three weeks.
On Tuesday morning, the Leafs announced that centre David Kampf will be out for Wednesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. He was originally placed on IR retroactively on Nov. 16, which was Toronto’s last game. However, to make cap space for call-ups, he was moved to LTIR. That means he won’t be able to return to the lineup until Dec 14. On Wednesday morning, Max Domi was placed on IR, also retroactive on Nov. 16. Technically, Domi is eligible to return to the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Utah Hockey Club. However, there’s no guarantee that will be the case.
In addition to those three forwards that are unavailable, Ryan Reaves is also out. The enforcer was suspended for five games after delivering a high hit to Darnell Nurse in their 4-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers. In total, the Leafs will be missing six forwards. That includes Calle Jarnkrok (dealing with a sports hernia) and Max Pacioretty, who was injured earlier in the season.
Leafs are currently without the following forwards:
Max Domi (IR)
Calle Jarnkrok (LTIR)
David Kampf (IR)
Auston Matthews (IR)
Max Pacioretty (LTIR)
Ryan Reaves (suspended five games)@TSN_Edge— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) November 20, 2024
Toronto Recalls Two Marlies
It only makes sense for head coach Craig Berube and general manager Brad Treliving to turn to their affiliate for help. Over the last couple of days, the Leafs have called up Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin from the Toronto Marlies. The two rookies have had great starts to their AHL campaigns. In terms of points-per-game, Minten and Grebenkin are second and third on the team amongst players who’ve played at least five games. With these call-ups, five players started their seasons with the Marlies and featured for the Maple Leafs lineup. Alex Steeves came before Minten and Grebenkin. He’s played one NHL game this season and is expected to play again on Wednesday. Also, Connor Dewar and Jani Hakanpaa started their campaigns with the Marlies. While they are regular NHL players at this point in their careers, they had a conditioning stint in the minors.
Season Debuts for the Rookies
Minten and Grebenkin will be making their season debuts. However, there’s a little more to it for the rookies. For the Grebenkin, this will be his NHL debut and a great game for it at Scotiabank Arena. The Russian winger featured in three preseason games for Toronto. He made quite an impression on the head coach and fan base. Despite not putting up a point, he was noticeable on the ice. He has a physical edge that both Berube and Treliving adore. He even fought in one of those exhibition games and pumped up Leafs Nation. After the exciting fight, Grebenkin fist-bumped a fan through the glass of the penalty box. He has become a fan-favourite early in his infantile career.
As for Minten, he had his NHL debut last season. Furthermore, he played the first four games of the 2023-24 season as the third-line centre. He didn’t score any points, however, he didn’t look out of place like many rookies would. Although he had this short experience, he has something more to prove. This will be the first time Berube will see Minten in action from behind the bench. That’s because the 20-year-old missed preseason due to an ankle sprain. He suffered this injury in a prospect game forcing him to miss all of training camp too.
It will be interesting to see the roles these rookies take on. In practice, Grebenkin has been taking reps with the second power-play unit. Minten will also get a lick in special teams. It was reported Minten was taking reps on the penalty kill with Dewar.
Main Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
