The Toronto Maple Leafs activated forward Josh Leivo on Sunday following the completion of his five-game AHL conditioning stint on the weekend.
The 23-year-old winger went scoreless during his five games with the Toronto Marlies, but had a pair of scoring chances and three shots on goal in a 2-1 loss to St. John’s on Saturday.
The Innisfil, ON native was an AHL All-Star last season after scoring a career-high 48 points (17 goals, 31 assists) in 51 games with the Marlies and five goals in a dozen games with the Leafs.
Toronto has yet to announce their roster move to keep at the 23-man roster limit, but it is expected that it will be one of Peter Holland, Nikita Soshnikov or Frank Corrado. Holland and Corrado require clearing waivers to be sent down to the AHL, while Soshnikov is waiver exempt.
The feisty Russian is a long shot to be demoted, since he is a favorite of head coach Mike Babcock and has played well in a fourth line energy role with Ben Smith and Matt Martin.
Holland has only one assist in seven games for Toronto and has played only once since the 7-3 loss to Tampa Bay on October 25th. The 25-year-old Toronto native could be claimed in spite of his $1.3 Million one-way salary this season, but the Leafs have many viable options playing in the minors if that occurs.
Corrado has played only once this season and does not appear to be someone that Babcock has any long term interest in, but the organizational depth on the blueline does not include many options if he is claimed by another NHL team looking for help on defense.
Toronto will look to rebound for a 2-1 loss to Montreal on Saturday when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes at Air Canada Center on Tuesday.
The contest between the historic rivals got physical on Saturday and a check from behind on Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk from Habs defenseman Alexei Emelin caused a scrum as time expired.
“I wasn't sure exactly how much time was left. I was obviously trying to get to the puck and throw it out but,… van Riemsdyk said following the game. “When you see numbers, it's basic hockey 101 – don't shove a guy into the wall.…
Emelin was given a minor for cross-checking, but the NHL’s Department of Player Safety reviewed the play and chose not to penalize the Montreal blueliner, who has a penchant for questionable hits.
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The Toronto Marlies rebounded from their first home loss on Sunday with a solid defensive effort and a third period offensive outburst in a 3-0 victory over the St. John’s Ice Caps at Ricoh Coliseum.
Defenseman Andrew Nielsen scored the game-winning goal and earned an assist as Byron Froese deflected his point shot on the power play midway through the third.
ICYMI: Nielsen puts the #Marlies ahead 1-0 vs. the IceCaps. #MarliesLive pic.twitter.com/9AFlPKBtwx
— Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) November 20, 2016
St. John’s goalie Charlie Lindgren had stymied the Marlies making 37 saves in the second of back-to-back games, while Garret Sparks made 19 saves for his first shutout of the season.
Brendan Leipsic added an empty net goal, putting him into sole possession of the AHL scoring lead with 19 points.
It was a good bounce back game for Nielsen, after a few glaring giveaways and being in the ice for both St. John’s goals on Saturday. The 20-year-old is in the top-10 for scoring among AHL defensemen (2nd among rookies), but in spite of the Leafs struggles on the blueline and their willingness to play rookies this season, it would be surprising if Toronto would promote the Red Deer, AB native this season.
Nikita Zaitsev is 25 (but considered is a rookie because his seven seasons were in the KHL), while 22-year-old Connor Carrick had 138 AHL games and 60 NHL games under his belt before making the Leafs this season.
While it is possible that Nielsen will get a brief taste of the NHL at the end of the year (as many of the club’s young prospects did last season), answers to Toronto’s defensive woes are likely to come from outside the organization or will have to wait to be addressed until next summer.
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