For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter The resumption of the NHL regular season and/or the Stanley Cup Playoffs may be in question, but that is not going to prevent us at Hockeybuzz from providing daily content for our readers. We will continue to provide you with updates on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to the season, but we will also report on news specific to the Toronto Maple Leafs and reflect on the club’s season and player performances through 70 games. We will continue with the report cards with a look at a couple more of the Leafs defensemen: Rasmus Sandin The Maple Leafs plan for their 2018 top pick was for a year of development and maturation in the American Hockey League, but an impressive training camp and the absence of Travis Dermott earned the 19-year-old a six-game NHL stint in October before being sent down to the Marlies. Sandin was voted the best blueliner after a 10-point performance at the 2020 World Junior, but Toronto’s plans to send him back to the AHL for a time changed shortly after returning from the Czech Republic when Morgan Rielly suffered a fractured foot.
Martin Marincin
The term quality depth is an oxymoron if it is being applied towards Marincin, who by some feat of magic is the second longest-tenured Leaf behind Morgan Rielly. The 27-year-old made the club out of training camp, cleared waivers and was demoted to the AHL in November and returned to the Leafs after the foot injury to Jake Muzzin in late December.
Martin Marincin’s first of the season but with Titanic music pic.twitter.com/TOw7pyoRD3
— Michael (@TheLeafsIMO) March 1, 2020
The lanky Slovak was extended to a league-minimum deal for next season because Sheldon Keefe is comfortable inserting him in the lineup when needed as Mike Babcock was. Marincin continues to show a propensity to give away the puck and is below average in every aspect.
Grade - D *******
We’ve got each other.
— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) March 15, 2020
The pod. On pod. Enjoy.#TheLeafsConvo @MikeInBuffalo @TheLeafsConvo https://t.co/UZLKpic92F