The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled defenseman John-Michael Liles from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.
The 33-year-old veteran blueliner has played well for the Marlies, with three goals and 10 assists in 16 games and has provided leadership on the ice and in the locker room for the Leafs AHL affiliate.
“He’s been real good and he’s like an extra coach in our dressing room.… Marlies head coach Steve Spott stated after last Saturday's 3-2 victory over Rochester. “I’m hoping he gets back to the NHL, but as a coaching staff, we are going to enjoy him as long as we got him.…
Toronto ended their five game losing streak with a 3-2 overtime victory over Dallas on Thursday, mostly due to the goaltending of Jonathan Bernier, who made 48 saves for his ninth victory of the season. Nazem Kadri scored twice and Trevor Smith tipped in a Jake Gardiner point shot for the winner with 42 seconds left in overtime.
The recall of Liles may be a result of another game where the Leafs defense had continual difficulty extricating the defensive zone, either by banging in off the boards or skating it out of the zone. Veteran Paul Ranger had another bad night and still has not show any signs of being a consistent NHL defenseman and Mark Fraser is still not 100% after suffering two separate lower body injuries in the first two months of the season.
With the recall of Liles, the Leafs have eight defensemen, which raises the possibility of rookie blueliner Morgan Rielly being loaned to Team Canada for the upcoming 2014 IIHF World Juniors in Sweden later this month. Rielly was a healthy scratch on Thursday after going -3 against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night and Leafs GM Dave Nonis indicated earlier in the week that he would not shut the door on loaning the 19-year-old to Team Canada if he was not in the lineup on most nights.
“It’s unlikely, but it’s not impossible,… Nonis said. “In the event that he’s not playing regularly, or there’s a change in our roster … I wouldn’t say that he’s off the table. But I wouldn’t say it’s likely.…
In other news, the club announced that they have placed center Tyler Bozak on long term injured reserve. Bozak is expected to be out an "extended period of time" with a strained oblique muscle and with his placement on LTIR, he will be out a minimum of 10 games or 24 days, which would make the game on December 23 against the New York Rangers the earliest opportunity for him to return.
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