The Maple Leafs announced today they’ve recalled defenseman Marshall Rifai from AHL Toronto. Winger Max Pacioretty, who’s missed three games with an undisclosed injury, was placed on injured reserve in a corresponding transaction. Their active roster remains at the 23-player maximum.
Rifai fulfills Toronto’s need for an extra body on defense. They lost Chris Tanev to what’s believed to be a short-term shoulder injury Tuesday night in Boston, leaving them without an additional defender in case of further injuries for the remainder of their road trip. The left-shot Rifai will likely sit in the press box instead of replacing the righty Tanev in the lineup. The latter honor should go to 6’5″ depth piece Philippe Myers, who’s been passable when called upon this season but hasn’t played since the 4 Nations break.
Tanev not landing on injured reserve indicates the Leafs are hopeful he’ll be back within the lineup sometime over their three-game stretch between now and Monday. A retroactive IR placement would have ruled him ineligible until next Wednesday against the Golden Knights, Toronto’s final game before the trade deadline.
The 26-year-old Rifai lands his fourth recall of the season, although none have led to any playing time. The 6’2″, 213-lb depth rearguard remains with just two career NHL appearances to his name, both coming in February of last season. Signed by the Leafs as an undrafted free agent out of Harvard in 2022, his defensive acumen in the minors impressed the front office enough to sign him to a two-year, one-way $1.55MM extension at the beginning of the season. That would indicate they expect him to be in more serious consideration for playing time in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 campaigns.
While not known or depended upon for his point production, Rifai is amid his worst offensive season out of three AHL campaigns with Toronto. Now an alternate captain for the Marlies, he’s got 3-6–9 through 44 games this season after notching 2-17–19 in 57 showings last year. The hard-hitting blue-liner stands as the team’s PIMs leader with 57, and his plus-seven rating is tied for fifth on the team.
Notably, Rifai has spent 24 days on the active roster this season. If this recall lasts over six days, he’ll need to clear waivers again to return to the minors.
Since Pacioretty last played before the break, he’s already missed more than seven days and can come off IR anytime. The 36-year-old has now lost 17 games to injury this season, although thankfully none are related to the three consecutive Achilles surgeries that cost him the overwhelming majority of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns. When healthy, the veteran has 5-8–13 in 37 appearances, posting a minus-two rating and averaging 13:30 per game with an eye-popping 105 hits, already the fourth-most in a single season of his 17-year career. He’s already hit both of his performance bonuses and will earn the full $1.5MM value of the one-year contract he signed with the Leafs in October.