The Toronto Maple Leafs will have quite a different lineup in the finale of their five-game home stand against the Anaheim Ducks at Air Canada Center.
Centers Tyler Bozak and Ben Smith suffered injuries in the 2-1 overtime victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday and did not participate in the club’s morning skate on Monday. Defenseman Jake Gardiner, who scored the game winner against the Penguins, was also absent due to illness.
The absence of Bozak(lower body) and Smith (upper body) necessitated a roster move, as defenseman Martin Marincin was placed on injured reserve and center Frederik Gauthier was called up from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.
Gauthier has one goal and three assists in 16 games with the Marlies this season. The 2013 first rounder was not in the Toronto lineup for more than three weeks, but played in Rochester and against the Albany Devils at ACC on Saturday.
William Nylander shifts from wing to center, replacing Bozak in between James van Riemsdyk and Mitch Marner, while Gauthier skated with Matt Martin and Josh Leivo.
Leivo was activated from the non-roster/injury list after the trade of Peter Holland to Arizona earlier this month and will be making his first start of the season.
Frank Corrado had an increased role Monday morning with Gardiner being unavailable, but Babcock would not confirm that the blueliner would playing in his second game of the year.
The game against Anaheim marks the return of Randy Carlyle, who was fired as Leafs head coach nearly two years ago. The dismissal signaled the start of the Leafs second-half collapse and was followed three months later by Brendan Shanahan’s thorough house cleaning.
Carlyle refused to elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the Leafs at the time of his firing, but acknowledged that a dramatic change of direction in Toronto was needed.
“I’d rather not comment on what I wanted, that’s a long time ago. The way things have developed I would say that (the Leafs) are (going) in the direction that needed to be taken.… Carlyle said to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. “Obviously the skillset and the youth that they’ve got in their lineup is at a much higher skillset, you pick where they pick in the draft – the supply of skill into their lineup and speed into the lineup has changed.…
Anaheim is 16-11-5 (37 points), two points behind the San Jose Sharks for top spot in the Pacific Division and in the middle of a six-game, pre-Christmas Eastern road swing.
Former teammates John Gibson and Frederik Andersen will be in goal for the Ducks and Leafs.
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As the March 1st deadline approaches, Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk is expected to be a prominently mentioned in trade chatter surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported on Saturday that teams have been inquiring into the availability of the big winger and that Toronto is open to discussing the possibility of moving him for the right price.
The 27-year-old winger is under contract through 2018, with a very reasonable $4.25 Million contract. The Leafs are likely to use van Riemsdyk to acquire help on the blueline that they desperately need and should get a return comparable to that received for Phil Kessel.
In reality, the return should be significantly more.
Van Riemsdyk should be an attractive addition to contending teams looking for a scoring winger and the Leafs have the ability to either retain 50% of the winger’s salary or take back a contract in a trade. The Kessel trade was complicated by the winger’s salary and seven years remaining on an eight-year, $64 Million contract. The amount and term of the deal forced Toronto to retain 15% of the $8 Million cap hit and take back Nick Spaling, who made over $2 Million.
If Lamoriello does not get what he believes are good offers for van Riemsdyk, the Leafs have the option of keeping him and moving the winger before or at the NHL Draft next June, but the return for a top-six forward with a year left on his contract should be the best before the deadline.
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In the final episode of 2016, the Blue N' White Tonight podcast looks at the Leafs shootout woes, the return of Peter Holland, the possible trade of JVR, and a young defenseman growing restless!
Then in Period 2, we get a visit from a gentleman who knows Leaf rookie Mitch Marner better than anyone... his father Paul!
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