Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are shuffling up their bottom six.

David Kampf will enter the lineup in place of Calle Jarnkrok against the New York Rangers on Thursday, head coach Craig Berube said.

Kampf, 30, has not played since last Thursday, having been relegated to the press box with the Maple Leafs forward group mostly healthy and more crowded since trade for Scott Laughton from the Philadelphia Flyers. source

Projected Lineup:

Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Mitch Marner
Pontus Holmberg — John Tavares — William Nylander
Bobby McMann — Max Domi — Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz — Scott Laughton — Calle Jarnkrok

Morgan Rielly — Brandon Carlo
Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit — Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll

Scratched: David Kampf, Phillippe Myers

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Max Pacioretty (tightness)

Status report: The Maple Leafs did not hold a morning skate following a 2-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. … Stolarz is likely to start after Woll made 38 saves Wednesday.

The Maple Leafs are looking to exact revenge for a tough loss in Colorado earlier this month when they face a stiff test against the surging Avalanche tonight in Toronto (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet). source

Projected Lineup:

Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Mitch Marner
Pontus Holmberg — John Tavares — William Nylander
Bobby McMann — Max Domi — Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz — Scott Laughton — Calle Jarnkrok

Morgan Rielly — Brandon Carlo
Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit — Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Joseph Woll
Anthony Stolarz

Scratched: David Kampf, Phillippe Myers

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Max Pacioretty (tightness)

Status report: The Maple Leafs are expected to use the same 18 skaters from their 6-2 victory against the Calgary Flames on Monday. … Woll will make consecutive starts for the first time since he started four straight games from Jan. 25-Feb. 4.

Goaltender Joseph Woll gets the start tonight against the Calgary Flames, per TSN's Mark Masters.

Captain Auston Matthews is on the ice for practice after he missed Saturday's morning skate for additional rest.

Matthews had a goal in 21:55 minutes of ice time in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators. After scoring 69 goals last season, Matthews has 24 so far this season and has scored just four times since Feb. 1. source

Projected Lineup:

Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Mitch Marner
Pontus Holmberg — John Tavares — William Nylander
Bobby McMann — Max Domi — Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz — Scott Laughton — Calle Jarnkrok

Morgan Rielly — Brandon Carlo
Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit — Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Joseph Woll
Anthony Stolarz

Scratched: David Kampf, Philippe Myers

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Max Pacioretty (tightness)

Status report: Kampf will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game.

The Maple Leafs are looking to avoid a season series sweep at the hands of Ottawa, turn around their recent dip in form, and keep the surging Senators outside of shouting distance in the Atlantic Division race tonight on HNIC (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/CBC). source

Projected lineup:

Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Max Domi
Bobby McMann — John Tavares — Mitch Marner
William Nylander — Scott Laughton — Calle Jarnkrok
Steven Lorentz — Pontus Holmberg — Nicholas Robertson

Morgan Rielly — Brandon Carlo
Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit — Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll

Scratched: David Kampf, Phillippe Myers

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Max Pacioretty (tightness)

Status report: Matthews did not participate in the Maple Leafs morning skate but will play.

With 18 games to go, the Maple Leafs are two points behind the Florida for first place in the Atlantic (with a game in hand), and wouldn’t you know it, they play them tonight with an opportunity to get a leg up on a reeling Panthers team (7:00 p.m. EST, TSN4). source

Projected Lineup:

Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Mitch Marner
Calle Jarnkrok — John Tavares — William Nylander
Bobby McMann — Scott Laughton — Max Domi
Pontus Holmberg — David Kampf — Steven Lorentz

Morgan Rielly — Brandon Carlo
Jake McCabe — Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Simon Benoit — Phippe Myers

Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll

Scratched: Nicholas Robertson

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Max Pacioretty (tightness), Christopher Tanev (upper body)

Status report: Tanev participated in the Maple Leafs optional morning skate, which will be a game-time decision; the defenseman missed six games. … If Tanev plays, Myers would be scratched.

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll is getting the start for Monday’s game against the Utah Hockey Club, head coach Craig Berube confirmed via TSN’s Mark Masters. Anthony Stolarz will start Thursday’s game against the Florida Panthers.

Woll has posted a 21-12-0 record with a .905 save percentage this season. Monday’s game presents Woll with a bounceback opportunity, after he was pulled for poor performance for the first time this season, during a March 5 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Calle Jarnkrok will also replace Nick Robertson in the lineup. Jarnkrok made his season debut on March 3 against the San Jose Sharks, after recovering from groin and sports hernia surgery. Robertson has recorded 11 goals and 17 points in 55 games, but hasn’t scored since a February 25 victory over the Boston Bruins. source

Projected Lineup:

Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Mitch Marner
Bobby McMann — John Tavares — William Nylander
Pontus Holmberg — Scott Laughton — Max Domi
Steven Lorentz — David Kampf — Calle Jarnkrok

Morgan Rielly — Brandon Carlo
Jake McCabe — Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Simon Benoit — Philippe Myers

Joseph Woll
Anthony Stolarz

Scratched: Nicholas Robertson

Injured: Chris Tanev (upper body), Max Pacioretty (undisclosed), Jani Hakanpaa (knee)

Status Report: Each team held an optional morning skate.

The Maple Leafs made two significant additions to their roster in Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo. Especially surprising with the Boston Bruins doing the Maple Leafs a favor. Toronto now has the center depth and defensive depth to take a deep run at the Stanley Cup Final. Now that Boston has taken themselves out of the running, Toronto’s focus will turn to the Florida Panthers, who added Brad Marchand at the deadline. source

Projected Lineup:

Matthew Knies -- Auston Matthews -- Mitch Marner
Pontus Holmberg -- John Tavares -- William Nylander
Bobby McMann -- Scott Laughton -- Max Domi
Steven Lorentz -- David Kampf -- Calle Jarnkrok

Morgan Rielly -- Brandon Carlo
Jake McCabe -- Simon Benoit
Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Philippe Myers

Joseph Woll
Anthony Stolarz

Scratched: Dakota Mermis, Nicholas Robertson

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Max Pacioretty (tightness), Chris Tanev (upper body)

Brad Treliving wanted — and needed — to check at least two boxes ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline: a right-shooting defenceman to play in the top four and a third-line centre.

The Maple Leafs general manager checked one emphatically in Brandon Carlo and the other … well, that remains to be seen.

. . .

The defenders who tend to click with Rielly — TJ Brodie, Schenn, Ron Hainsey — look a lot like Carlo. They play simple games and they defend hard, especially around the net. They free Rielly up to do Rielly things.

In some ways, then, this isn’t just a trade for Carlo. It’s a trade for Carlo and, theoretically, the best possible version of Rielly.

. . .

The Leafs preferred Laughton to Yanni Gourde, a pending unrestricted free agent who went back to Tampa earlier in the week.

It doesn’t feel safe to assume that the Leafs have solved their third-line centre problem with Laughton. There are Alex Kerfoot/Max Domi vibes here in the sense that Laughton is one of those guys who can play centre but maybe shouldn’t.

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Fraser Minten appears to be headed to the Bruins, but not sure the deal is finalized.

Edit: Connor Timmins and Connor Dewar are heading the the Penguins as well. A late pick may be coming back to the Leafs from the Pens.

Put all your Leafs trade news, rumours, complaints, etc. here in this thread!

Deadline is at 3pm ET.

The Philadelphia Flyers are splitting up with one of their longest-tenured players.

The Flyers have traded centre Scott Laughton to the Toronto Maple Leafs for forward Nikita Grebenkin and a first-rounder.

Toronto will also receive a fourth- and a sixth-rounder in the deal, while the Flyers will retain 50 per cent of Laughton's contract.

. . .

Laughton, 30, has spent his entire 12-year career with the Flyers. Only captain Sean Couturier has been with the team longer.

He has 11 goals and 16 assists in 60 games this season. He also has 33 blocked shots and 129 hits while playing an average of 15:06 of ice time, mainly centring the Flyers' second line.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed enforcer Ryan Reaves on waivers as Friday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline approaches.

The Leafs needed to free up some cap space ahead of the deadline. Enter Reaves. Assuming the 38-year-old clears, which seems like a foregone conclusion, the Leafs will clear $1.15 million in cap space.

Were another team to claim Reaves, which seems unlikely, the Leafs would shed the entirety of the $1.35 million cap hit on his contract, which still has another year left on it.

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Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll will start Wednesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Woll was in the starter’s net during the morning skate, TSN’s Mark Masters reports.

Woll has posted a 21-11-0 record in 32 appearances, with a .907 save percentage. It appears likely that Anthony Stolarz will start Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche as a result.

Chris Tanev was skating during the session, although he won’t play Wednesday. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube confirmed that Tanev could play Saturday, via Sportsnet’s Luke Fox. source

Projected Lineup:

Matthew Knies -- Auston Matthews -- Mitch Marner
Pontus Holmberg -- John Tavares -- William Nylander
Bobby McMann -- Max Domi -- Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz -- David Kampf -- Calle Jarnkrok

Morgan Rielly -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Jake McCabe -- Philippe Myers
Simon Benoit -- Conor Timmins

Joseph Woll
Anthony Stolarz

Scratched: Connor Dewar, Dakota Mermis, Ryan Reaves

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Max Pacioretty (tightness), Chris Tanev (upper body)

Playing their third game in four days (and sixth in 10 days since the break), the Maple Leafs seek their sixth win in a row tonight but must avoid the trap game against the bottom-feeding San Jose Sharks (7:30 p.m. EST, Amazon Prime). source

Projected lineup:

Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Mitch Marner
Pontus Holmberg — John Tavares — William Nylander
Bobby McMann — Max Domi — Nicholas Robertson
Connor Dewar — David Kampf — Ryan Reaves

Morgan Rielly — Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Jake McCabe — Philippe Myers
Simon Benoit — Conor Timmins

Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll

Scratched: Alex Steeves, Dakota Mermis

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), Max Pacioretty (tightness), Chris Tanev (upper body), Steven Lorentz (undisclosed)

Status report: The Maple Leafs recalled Mermis from Toronto of the AHL on Monday, but it’s uncertain if the defenseman will play. Defenseman Marshall Rifai was assigned to Toronto of the AHL.

The Maple Leafs are seeking their fifth win in a row since the break when they visit a struggling and tired Penguins team for a rare Sunday afternoon matinee (1:00 p.m. EST, TSN4). source

Projected Lineup:

Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Mitch Marner
Pontus Holmberg — John Tavares — William Nylander
Bobby McCann — Calle Jarnkrok — Nicholas Robertson
Max Pacioretty — David Kampf — Ryan Reaves

Morgan Rielly — Philippe Myers
Simon Benoit — Jake McCabe
Marshall Rifai — Conor Timmins

Joseph Woll
Anthony Stolarz

Scratched: Alex Steeves

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Connor Dewar (upper body), Chris Tanev (upper body), Steven Lorentz (undisclosed), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (undisclosed), Max Domi (undisclosed)

Status report: Jarnkrok, who had groin and sports hernia surgery in November, could make his season debut but is awaiting clearance from the doctors, Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said. … Domi and Lorentz, each a forward, and Ekman-Larsson, a defenseman, will be game-time decisions after missing practice Saturday. … Pacioretty could play after being sidelined four games with an undisclosed injury.

Now without Chris Tanev, the Maple Leafs hope to keep rolling through their week of Original Six opponents when they visit a Rangers team currently in a dogfight for a playoff spot (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet Ontario). source

Projected Lineup:

Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Mitch Marner
Bobby McMann — John Tavares — William Nylander
Max Domi — Pontus Holmberg — Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz — David Kampf — Ryan Reaves

Morgan Rielly — Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Jake McCabe — Phillippe Myers
Simon Benoit — Conor Timmins

Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll

Scratched: Alex Steeves, Marshall Rifai

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), Max Pacioretty (tightness), Connor Dewar (upper body), Chris Tanev (upper body)

Status report: Reaves will play after being a healthy scratch the past five games… Rifai was recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League on Friday… Pacioretty, a forward who has missed the past three games, was placed on injured reserve Friday. … Stolarz will make his second straight start with Woll ill.

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz will start against the Boston Bruins, head coach Craig Berube confirmed via Sportsnet’s Luke Fox.

Stolarz has been in excellent form all season, posting a .928 save percentage with a 11-5-2 record in 19 appearances. The 31-year-old submitted a stellar performance during the Maple Leafs’ 6-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. This likely means that Joseph Woll will get the start Friday against the New York Rangers. Source

Projected lineup:

Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Mitch Marner
Pontus Holmberg — John Tavares — William Nylander
Bobby McMann — Max Domi — Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz — David Kampf — Alexander Steeves

Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev
Morgan Rielly — Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Simon Benoit — Conor Timmins

Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll

Scratched: Phillippe Myers, Ryan Reaves

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), Max Pacioretty (tightness), Connor Dewar (upper body)

Projected Lineup:

Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Mitch Marner
Bobby McMann — John Tavares — William Nylander
Max Domi — Pontus Holmberg — Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz — David Kampf — Alex Steeves

Morgan Rielly — Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit — Conor Timmins

Joseph Woll
Anthony Stolarz

Scratched: Phillippe Myers, Ryan Reaves

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), Max Pacioretty (tightness), Connor Dewar (upper body)

Status report: Neither team held a morning skate … Woll will start after Stolarz made 31 saves in a 6-3 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

And we're baaaaaaaaaaaack!!! Let's gooooooo!

The Maple Leafs return from the 4 Nations break looking to halt a run of five straight losses to the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at Scotiabank Arena (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/CBC).

The Leafs‘ losing streak to the Hurricanes has a clear throughline: special teams. Toronto has outscored the Carolina 12-9 at five-on-five during this 0-4-1 stretch dating back to March 2023, but they’re 1-for-16 on the power play with a shorthanded goal against (i.e., net-zero on the man advantage) against the vaunted Canes PK, and just 11-for-17 on the penalty kill. Save for the last matchup in Carolina — when the Leafs built an early 2-0 lead and then fell apart — it’s resulted in the Leafs playing a lot of catch-up hockey, as they have been out-scored 7-2 in the first periods of those five games. source

Projected Lineup:

Matthew Knies -- Auston Matthews -- Mitch Marner
Bobby McMann -- John Tavares -- William Nylander
Max Domi -- Pontus Holmberg -- Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz -- David Kampf -- Alex Steeves

Morgan Rielly -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Jake McCabe-- Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit -- Conor Timmins

Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll

Scratched: Phillippe Myers, Ryan Reaves

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), Max Pacioretty (tightness), Connor Dewar (upper body)

Status report: Jost is expected to return for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury Dec. 31. ... Pacioretty, a forward, is not expected to play after missing practice Friday. ... Dewar practiced in full on Friday but the forward will miss his eighth straight game; Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said Dewar could be available at the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.

We tend to talk a lot about trade possibilities for the Toronto Maple Leafs (at centre and on defence) in these parts. Less so on what exactly they have to trade.

That’s the goal of our project here.

We’re looking only at assets the Leafs could conceivably move ahead of the March 7 trade deadline, not the ones we know aren’t going anywhere. We’ve bunched them into five tiers — from the assets that figure to have the most value (tier 1) to those with the least (tier 5).

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The Toronto Maple Leafs’ relative lack of goal scoring has been a story all season, but William Nylander hasn’t encountered any of the issues that are plaguing some of his teammates.

While it’s no surprise to see a guy coming off consecutive 40-goal seasons fill the back of the net, Nylander has never ranked higher than 14th in the NHL in goals scored. So he wasn’t expected to be in the Rocket Richard Trophy race at the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Even if Leon Draisaitl (who has 40 goals) isn’t losing sleep just yet, Nylander ranks second in the NHL in goals (33) and he’s on pace for 49 — a significant jump from his career high.

It’s an unusual development for a player deep into his prime at age 28, whose role on his team has not expanded in a notable way. Nylander is seeing nearly exactly the same amount of ice this season, playing just six fewer seconds a game than he did last season (19:49 vs. 19:55), and he’s being put in a similar position to score, spending most of his time on a line with John Tavares and skating more than 70 percent of his team’s power-play minutes.

Archive

With the 4 Nations Face-Off obviously drawing most of the attention right now, I thought it would be a good time to take a step back and answer some of your burning Toronto Maple Leafs questions this week.

More than 200 came in just before the break started, and there’s a lot of good stuff there. Enough to fill a book. So we’ll start here with the first round and hopefully we’ll have time to get to some more in the near future. Thanks to everyone for the great mailbag fodder.

Let’s dive in.

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After swapping one maple leaf for another and sharing a dressing room with his boyhood hero, Mitch Marner figured he’d packed more than enough pinch-me moments into these first few days with Team Canada.

Then Sidney Crosby found him on a reload in overtime and put the puck on his stick as he gathered speed through the neutral zone, and that set the stage for a moment that was literally years in the making for the 27-year-old winger.

Marner secured a massive 4 Nations opening victory for Canada on Wednesday when he stared down Erik Karlsson and neatly tucked a shot over Filip Gustavsson’s blocker. That froze the clock at 6:06 and sent the Bell Centre into a frenzy. But it also brought a seldom-seen level of emotion out of an all-world player who has perhaps endured the worst of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ repeated playoff defeats over the years.

“I mean, you tell 8- or 10-year-old Mitch that he’s scoring an overtime goal assisted by Sidney Crosby, a guy he looked up to since Day 1, yeah, it’s pretty crazy,” said Marner, his voice growing hoarse after the 4-3 victory. “And I’m sure my family’s gonna be very excited about that one, and it’s gonna be a really cool thing to have now.”

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The 4 Nations Face-Off begins Wednesday, which leads us to an obvious question: How does this affect the Maple Leafs?

All kidding aside, if you’re a Leafs fan following the NHL/NHLPA-run tournament featuring Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland, there’s no shortage of intrigue.

With many nations excluded from competition, the Leafs are one of the few NHL teams sending their three best players (Auston Matthews, USA; Mitch Marner, Canada; and William Nylander, Sweden) to the tournament.

Leafs fans will certainly have a lot to watch through the eight-day tournament, with at least one Leaf playing in each game on the schedule.

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It appears that the Toronto Maple Leafs won’t be making any lineup changes ahead of Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, with their starting goalie to be determined.

Anthony Stolarz was excellent in his first start since December 12, leading the Maple Leafs to a 3-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube has not stated if Stolarz or Joseph Woll will start against the Canucks, but either option provides Toronto with a bonafide chance of extending its three-game winning streak. Woll has operated as a true No. 1 in Stolarz’s absence, with a 19-10-0 record and .909 save percentage, while Stolarz has posted a 10-5-2 record in 18 appearances, sporting a league-best .929 save percentage. source

Projected Lineup:

Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Max Domi
William Nylander — John Tavares — Mitch Marner
Bobby McMann — Pontus Holmberg — Nicholas Robertson
Max Pacioretty — David Kampf — Steven Lorentz

Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev
Morgan Rielly — Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Simon Benoit — Philippe Myers

Joseph Woll
Anthony Stolarz

Scratched: Conor Timmins, Dakota Mermis, Ryan Reaves

Injured: Calle Jarnkrok (hernia), Jani Hakanpaa (lower body)

Status report: Neither team will hold a morning skate, but the Maple Leafs did practice on Friday in Vancouver.