The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled goaltender Antoine Bibeau on an emergency basis from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.
Goalie Jonathan Bernier backed up starter James Reimer in a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday in spite of being "banged up" in a 4-0 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday. Bernier's injury is said to be day-to-day, but it likely means that Manitoba native Reimer will get a second straight start on Wednesday against the Winnipeg Jets.
The 21-year-old Bibeau has started well with the Leafs AHL affiliate, with a 5-1-0 record, 2.17 GAA and .908 save percentage.
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Leafs head coach Mike Babcock will be pretty busy when next September rolls around, but as well as leading the Maple Leafs, the Stanley Cup and Olympic winner will lead Team Canada at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that Babcock will head up Canada’s coaching staff with fellow Cup winners Joel Quenneville and Claude Julien.
The World Cup runs from September 17 to October 1 and all games will be played at Air Canada Center in Toronto, which will coincide with the balance of the Maple Leafs training camp.
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Maple Leafs defensive prospect Stephen Desrocher has been traded.......in the Ontario Hockey League. The 2015 sixth round pick(155th overall) was moved by the Memorial Cup champion Oshawa Generals to the Kingston Frontenacs for a package of draft picks.
The 19-year-old Desrocher has five goals and six assists in 17 games this season.
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Interesting items in Elliotte Friedman’s 30 Thoughts regarding the Leafs goaltending and other trade discussions.
Toronto is checking out goalie options in the wake of Bernier’s struggles (0-6-1 to start the year) and Reimer becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
There has been speculation tying Anaheim goalie Frederik Andersen to the Maple Leafs and Ducks GM Bob Murray was present at Monday’s Leafs-Stars game in Toronto, but it would be surprising if the Leafs made a deal for a goaltender who could make them better this season with the club looking to pick high in the 2016 Draft as part of their organizational rebuild.
Friedman also indicated that there was some chatter about pending UFA defenseman Roman Polak heading to the Los Angeles Kings, but those rumors did not go anywhere. Polak-to-LA rumors are nothing new, there was talk regarding the right-hand shooting blueliner heading to Southern California last March, but LA opted to deal for Carolina defenseman Andrej Sekera.
Listen to myself as a guest on the Blue and White Tonight Podcast as we discuss the Leafs and Marlies:
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