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The Toronto Maple Leafs spent two days in the Vegas area prior to departing for Northern California to meet up with the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, hoping to shake off another listless early-season performance. The 3-1 loss to the Golden Knights on Monday was the Leafs third loss in seven games and another outing where the club struggled to generate offensive chances.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe chose to shake up his line combinations at practice, shifting Alex Kerfoot to the top line with the struggling combo of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Michael Bunting moved down to the third line with Calle Jornkrok moving to the middle and Denis Malgin, while Zach Aston-Reese was inserted on the fourth line with David Kamp and Pierre Engvall.
There is no guarantee that these combos will remain for Thursday’s game, but it is reflective of Keefe sending a message of discontent with the lack of production at even strength.
Jordie Benn and Timothy Liljegren were both on the ice for #Marlies practice today.
— Nick Barden (@nickbarden) October 25, 2022
They’ll be with the team for the next few games on a coniditioning stint. pic.twitter.com/Gu7r8SIfXi
The Leafs made a few roster moves on Wednesday, placing winger Kyle Clifford on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury and recalling defenseman Filip Kral from the AHL Toronto Marlies. Kral was skating as the extra blueliner at practice, but based on some questionable play from Victor Mete and Justin Holl, it is not impossible that the 23-year-old gets an NHL look if their struggles continue, as both Timothy Liljegren and Jordie Benn are not likely to be available until after they return home from their five-game road trip next week.
Toronto also did some cap housekeeping, shifting injured defenseman Jake Muzzin from injured reserve to LTIR. The move not only extends the minimum unavailability from seven days to 10 games/24 days, it clears Muzzin’s $5.62 million cap hit and gives the Leafs some maneuvering room. What has become apparent from the reaction of his teammates to the careful handling of this latest injury, is that there is a higher level of uncertainty about when or possibly if Muzzin will return and what the club will do if he does not.
Updated look at the #Leafs cap space situation after placing Jake Muzzin on LTIR and recalling Filip Kral.
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) October 26, 2022
LTI Salary pool total relief: $12,462,500
LTI Salary pool used: $6,919,167
LTI Salary pool remaining: $5,543,333https://t.co/XQsFN5bJj1
Rumors of Toronto being interested in Arizona defenseman Jakob Chychrun continue to circulate, but the price of acquiring him from the Coyotes is expected to be exorbitant and potentially out of the Leafs price range. One possible option is former Edmonton blueliner Ethan Bear. The 25-year-old has not played for Carolina this season and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported earlier in the week that Bear had requested a trade over the summer and speculated that teams like Vancouver and Toronto with issues on defense could be interested.
With the move of Muzzin to LTIR, the Leafs could accommodate Bear’s $2.2 million salary, but the question is whether he is an upgrade. Once Liljegren returns, it is likely he would be reunited either with fellow Swede Rasmus Sandin or veteran Mark Giordano (who he both played well with last season), but with the potential long-term loss of Muzzin, GM Kyle Dubas would likely be looking for a top-four defenseman like Chychrun than more of a depth move like Bear.
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