The Toronto Maple Leafs will have their full lineup available for the last contest of their three-game road trip against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
The club returned goaltender Antoine Bibeau to the AHL and after taking part in practice on Wednesday, the club activated Jonathan Bernier from injured reserve.
"That was really the first practice where we did some battle drills and I felt pretty good," Bernier said
on Wednesday in Nashville. "Obviously I think I'm going to feel (the injury) for a while, I don't think you ever feel 100% but I feel good enough to play."
Bernier will back up James Reimer, who will make his sixth straight start and has gone 2-1-2 while his goaltending partner was out of action.
Reimer earned his third win of the season (and second in eight days) with a 36-save performance in a 3-2 victory over the Stars in Dallas on Tuesday, but his penchant for untimely questionable goals continued with Patrick Sharp’s tying marker in the final minute of the second period and Vern Fiddler’s go-ahead bad-angled backhander early in the third.
Forward Daniel Winnik participated fully at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday, skating with Nick Spaling and Joffrey Lupul and is expected to return less than one week after suffering what appeared to be a serious knee injury in Washington.
Brad Boyes, Frank Corrado and Martin Marincin will be the healthy scratches.
Nashville is 9-3-2 and tied for third place in the tough Central Division. The Preds are coming off wide open 7-5 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
Pekka Rinne is expected to get the start in goal.
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If you needed any further proof on how economical and attractive the contract of James van Riemsdyk is, you only need to compare his numbers to that of Justin Abdelkader, who signed a seven-year, $29.75 Million extension on Thursday.
The 28-year-old Michigander is a useful power forward who has become more adept at using his size and strength over his six-year stint in Detroit. Abdelkader more than doubled his career-high with 23 goals last season and was scheduled for unrestricted free agency at the end of 2015-16.
This prompted the Wings to increase his salary from $1.8 Million to $4.25 Million per season with no-trade protection for the first four years of the deal.
Van Riemsdyk is two years younger than Abdelkader, has two more years remaining at the same $4.25 Million cap hit and has scored 20 or more goals four times(if you include the 18 goal year in a 48-game lockout shortened season).
It does not appear that Toronto is anxious to move van Riemsdyk any time soon, since youngsters William Nylander, Mitch Marner or potential free agent centers Steven Stamkos or Anze Kopitar would need a top line winger to play with.
If the organization does decide to shop the big forward down the line, the bang for the buck that van Riemsdyk offers should provide a windfall for the Leafs, especially with the continually escalating prices in the NHL.
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Interesting note from Sportsnet’s
Elliotte Friedman in his always informative “30 Thoughts” column regarding soon-to-be-free agent KHL defenseman Nikita Zaitsev.
Many NHL scouts were interested in seeing the 24-year-old blueliner, but he was used sparingly at the recent Karjala Cup Tournament in Finland. The Russians gave more time to Bruins prospect Maxim Chudinov, who is staying in the KHL instead of Zaitsev, who would have left for the NHL last summer if not for the last year of a contract with CSKA Moscow.
The conventional wisdom is that Zaitsev is going to the Maple Leafs, as the blueliner was impressed with the organization when he visited Toronto over the summer.
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