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Alex Steeves

Maple Leafs Reassign Alex Steeves, Place Bobby McMann On IR

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3:00 PM: Confirming the report from Alter earlier, the Maple Leafs reassigned Steeves to the AHL and placed McMann on the injured reserve.

1:00 PM: The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to assign forward Alex Steeves to the minor leagues and place winger Bobby McMann on injured reserve, as they anticipate the return of Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies, per David Alter of The Hockey News. Head coach Craig Berube shared on Thursday that McMann could miss the team’s next few games after suffering a handful of bruises in Wednesday’s matchup against Florida. McMann left that game at the end of the second period. An assignment to injured reserve, made retroactive to Wednesday, would hold McMann out of Toronto’s next two games.

There will be little complaining about the need for roster moves from a Toronto brass prepared to add 69-goal scorer Matthews back to the lineup. Matthews has missed Toronto’s last nine games with an upper-body injury. Toronto plans to separate Matthews from usual winger Mitch Marner when he returns, instead lining him up to William Nylander and fellow returnee Knies. Knies has missed Toronto’s last two games with his upper-body injury. He’ll return to a prime opportunity next to Toronto’s strongest scorers, after netting eight goals and 12 points in 20 games this season.

But while these moves bolster the top six, they’ll force some shifting around Toronto’s bottom-six. Fraser Minten and Connor Dewar will likely step down a peg to center Toronto’s third and fourth line respectively; while Alexander Nylander, Nikita Grebenkin, and Nicholas Robertson compete for ice time on the wings. The trio will try to fill McMann’s impactful role on the flanks. He has six goals and seven points in 21 games this season – ranking fourth among all Leafs in goals.

Meanwhile, Steeves is expected to return to the minors after failing to score on an NHL call-up again. Steeves hasn’t scored in the NHL since December of 2021 – when he recorded his first NHL point, an assist, in his third career game. Despite that, he leads the Toronto Marlies in scoring this season, with nine goals and 12 points in 10 games.

Maple Leafs Recall Alex Steeves

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The Maple Leafs announced they’ve recalled forward Alex Steeves from AHL Toronto under emergency conditions ahead of tonight’s contest against the Senators. The news confirms that captain Auston Matthews will not be coming off injured reserve after being labeled doubtful by head coach Craig Berube yesterday.

They still would have had 12 forwards available without Matthews since Connor Dewar came off long-term injured reserve last Friday. Thus, Steeves’ recall indicates that Max Domi or William Nylander could be questionable for tonight after missing Monday’s practice for maintenance days.

Steeves, 25 next month, was an undrafted free agent signing out of Notre Dame in March 2021. He’s suited up mainly in the AHL since then, but he has a few NHL appearances under his belt and has played at least one game in the last three seasons. The 6’0″ New Hampshire native has one assist, a -4 rating, 10 hits, and six giveaways in seven career games. He’s recorded six shots on goal and averaged 8:14 per game.

Steeves, who can play center and wing, has grown into a prolific AHL scoring force despite his lack of NHL point production. He recorded a career-high 27 goals and 57 points in 67 games for the Marlies last season, and he leads the club in scoring through the early going of 2024-25 with nine goals and three assists for 12 points in 10 games.

The Maple Leafs had an open roster spot after placing Max Pacioretty on IR on Monday, so no corresponding transaction is required. Toronto’s $1.83MM in current cap space under their LTIR pool is plenty to absorb Steeves’ $775K cap hit, per PuckPedia.

Steeves had his first go-around with restricted free agency this past summer after his entry-level contract expired. He waited until August to re-sign but eventually put pen to paper on a one-year, two-way deal ($775K/$300K) to return to the Maple Leafs organization. Since he’ll be 25 next summer with fewer than 80 NHL games played and four professional seasons under his belt, he’ll be eligible to test unrestricted free agency via Group VI status.

Waiver Wire: 10/4/24

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According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman all 17 players on waivers yesterday have cleared. There are again several players to hit the wire today as reported by Friedman:

Anaheim Ducks

F Jansen Harkins

Boston Bruins

G Michael DiPietro
F Vinni Lettieri
D Jordan Oesterle

Florida Panthers

F William Lockwood

Los Angeles Kings

F Taylor Ward

New Jersey Devils

F Justin Dowling
F Mike Hardman
F Samuel Laberge
F Nathan Légaré
F Maxwell Willman

Philadelphia Flyers

F Olle Lycksell
F Anthony Richard

Pittsburgh Penguins

F Emil Bemström
D Nate Clurman
F Jonathan Gruden
F Joona Koppanen
D Filip Král
D John Ludvig
F Samuel Poulin

Tampa Bay Lightning

G Matt Tomkins

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Alex Steeves

Washington Capitals

D Ethan Bear
F Luke Philp
F Michael Sgarbossa

Atlantic Notes: Mermis, Toronto Injuries, Lundell

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Depth defenseman Dakota Mermis’ first few weeks with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization is not going as planned. The team announced Mermis had jaw surgery yesterday and would miss the next couple of weeks effectively ending his training camp and preseason.

Mermis was hoping to make Toronto’s opening night roster albeit as a depth defenseman after signing with the organization this summer on a one-year, $775K contract. The surgery will squash any hopes of Mermis making the Maple Leafs and he will instead likely start the season with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

He will now join defenseman Philippe Myers as the two ’next-men-up’ in AHL Toronto should there be injuries at the NHL level. The Alton, IL native is coming off a season with the Minnesota Wild in which he scored three goals and eight points in 47 contests.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • The injuries don’t stop at Mermis for the Maple Leafs as the organization announced John Tavares, Calle Jarnkrok, and Alex Steeves are all considered day-to-day with lower-body injuries. None of the trio practiced with the team earlier this morning but there has been no indication whether they will suit up in tomorrow night’s preseason action against the Montreal Canadiens. Toronto will prioritize each player starting the regular season on time so they will continue to be careful with all three.
  • According to Colby Guy of The Associated Press, Florida Panthers forward Anton Lundell was back at practice today after missing yesterday’s due to a lower-body injury. Lundell was originally listed as day-to-day but there was no harm no foul as head coach Paul Maurice shared he wasn’t planning on Lundell playing against the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow regardless.

Maple Leafs Re-Sign Alex Steeves To Two-Way Contract

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The Maple Leafs have re-signed RFA forward Alex Steeves to a one-year, two-way contract, the team announced.

Steeves will count $775K against the cap if he’s on the NHL roster during the 2024-25 season. PuckPedia reports he’ll make a $300K salary in the AHL with a $350K guarantee.

Toronto signed Steeves, now 24, as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame in March 2021. Since then, the Bedford, New Hampshire native has become a fixture in the top six of their AHL club, the Toronto Marlies.

With the Marlies, Steeves has 69 goals, 85 assists, 154 points, and a -11 rating in 188 games over the past three seasons. His point-per-game rates have varied minimally, peaking at 0.88 last season and bottoming out at 0.78 in 2022-23. Amid a career-high 27 goals and 57 points last year, Steeves represented the North Division at the AHL All-Star Game.

However, NHL appearances have been hard to come by for the versatile forward. Steeves, who can play center and both wings, has just one point and a -4 rating in seven career appearances over his three professional seasons. He’s averaged just 8:14 per game.

While Steeves is an acceptable plug-and-play bottom-six option if needed, the Leafs’ salary cap crunch likely means he won’t have a spot on their opening-night roster. He’ll need to clear waivers to head back to the Marlies. He’ll remain high on their list of call-up options in case of injuries, although likely only on a short-term basis. Players can stay on an NHL roster for up to 30 days or play up to 10 games after clearing waivers before needing to pass through them again to return to the minors.

As PuckPedia points out, Steeves is on track to meet the requirements to hit the open market early next summer via Group VI unrestricted free agency. The Maple Leafs would need to utilize Steeves in at least 73 games this season to maintain control over his rights as an RFA next summer, an improbable scenario.

With Steeves signing, winger Nicholas Robertson is Toronto’s lone remaining unsigned RFA. He still has an active trade request dating back to June.

Bruins/Maple Leafs Notes: Matthews, McMann, Toronto Black Aces, Heinen

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Unlike Game 5, we won’t have to wait until warmups of tonight’s Game 6 to know whether star Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews will be available. He’s already been ruled out of the lineup as Toronto aims to push the series back to Boston for a Game 7, head coach Sheldon Keefe said this morning (via The Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby).

Matthews hasn’t played since the second period of Toronto’s Game 4 loss, missing Game 5 with what multiple reports indicate is a combination of an illness and an undisclosed injury. The Leafs responded well to keep their season alive without him on Tuesday, outshooting Boston 33-28 en route to an overtime win off the stick of rookie Matthew Knies.

After scoring a franchise-record 69 goals in the regular season, Matthews was held without a point in three of his four appearances in the series thus far. He did have a dominant performance in Game 2, though, factoring in on every goal Toronto scored in a 3-2 win.

His line with Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi has been the most high-event trio Toronto has iced, leading them in both expected goals for (4.68) and expected goals against (4.83) per 60 minutes, per MoneyPuck. Domi shifted to center between Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner for Game 5, controlling 65.7% of shot attempts and factoring in on defenseman Jake McCabe’s game-opening goal. That trio projects to stay together tonight.

Other updates ahead of Game 6, tonight at 7 p.m. CT:

  • Leafs depth forward Bobby McMann is “progressing” in his recovery from a lower-body injury that’s kept him from making his playoff debut, but Keefe said today he isn’t close to returning and shouldn’t be expected back tonight or for a potential Game 7. McMann, 27, had 15 goals and 24 points with a +13 rating in a career-high 56 appearances in the regular season but hasn’t been a full participant in practice since sustaining the injury on April 10 against the Red Wings.
  • Toronto’s AHL club was eliminated by the Belleville Senators in a best-of-three First Round series in the Calder Cup Playoffs earlier this week. With Marlies players’ seasons done, the Leafs added nine players to their playoff roster, per CapFriendly. Forwards Nicholas Abruzzese, Kyle Clifford, Dylan Gambrell and Alex Steeves; defensemen Mikko Kokkonen, Maxime Lajoie, Topi Niemelä and Marshall Rifai; and goaltender Dennis Hildeby are now available to dress for Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Leafs if needed.
  • Switching over to the Bruins’ side, forward Danton Heinen will not be in the lineup for Game 6 due to an undisclosed injury, The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa reports. He’s listed as day-to-day, and while he hasn’t missed any game action yet in the series, he’s missed some practices over the last few days. Now in his second stint in Boston, the 28-year-old has been riding shotgun on the first line with Pavel Zacha and David Pastrňák for most of the series but has been moved down the lineup after managing a lone assist and a -1 rating in five games. Rookie John Beecher is expected to re-enter the Boston lineup in a fourth-line role alongside Jesper Boqvist and Pat Maroon after being scratched in Game 5.

Toronto Maple Leafs Loan Alex Steeves To AHL

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that they’ve loaned forward Alex Steeves to their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. Steeves was recalled last week and served as a health scratch for the Maple Leafs in their losses to the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins over the weekend.

The 23-year-old has yet to play in an NHL game this season but has six games of experience, all with the Maple Leafs. Steeves has suited up in three games in each of the past two seasons, notching a single assist over that time. The story has been much different in the AHL, as Steeves has proved to be a solid scoring option with the Marlies. In 14 games this season, he has 11 goals and seven assists and is +2. For his AHL career, Steeves has dressed in 137 games and has 115 points.

Steeves spent his NCAA career with the University of Notre Dame before he signed with the Leafs as an undrafted free agent in 2021. His return to the AHL means he will have an opportunity to build on an 11-game point streak that remains intact. Steeves has 11 goals and five assists during the streak, and if he can continue to pile on the offense for the Marlies, he may be able to force his way into the Maple Leafs lineup at some point this season.

The Maple Leafs have not received a ton of offensive production from their bottom six forwards thus far this year, and with how tight they are against the salary cap, they may have no other choice other than exploring internal options to try and improve the offensive production they get from their bottom two lines.

Maple Leafs Place John Klingberg On LTIR, Recall Alex Steeves

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed defenseman John Klingberg on long-term injured reserve and recalled forward Alex Steeves from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Klingberg’s LTIR assignment has been much anticipated, as the defender’s undisclosed injury grew from a small concern, to something that would hold him out of all action this week, to an LTIR designation.

Klingberg is in his first season with the Leafs, signing a one-year, $4.2MM contract with the team on July 1st. He’s performed modestly in his first 14 games with the club, netting five points, eight penalty minutes, and a -7.

Klingberg has moved around a lot in recent years, after spending the first eight years of his career with the Dallas Stars. He signed a one-year, $7MM contract with the Anaheim Ducks ahead of last season and appeared in 50 games with the club, netting 24 points and a -28. Anaheim didn’t stick out the contract, though, dealing him to the Minnesota Wild at last year’s Trade Deadline. Klingberg went on to play in 17 games and record nine points, in Minnesota – adding four points in four playoff games as well.

With the veteran defender on IR, Toronto brings up the Marlies’ leading scorer in Steeves. The 23-year-old forward has 18 points in 14 AHL games this season, a tally that ties him for third in the league in points. Steeves has played three NHL games in each of the last two seasons, totaling one point across the matchups.

Steeves provides depth for Calle Jarnkrok, who is slated to be a game-time decision for the team’s Friday matchup. Jarnkrok is dealing with a lower-body injury after taking an Auston Matthews shot to the leg.

Toronto Maple Leafs Return Alex Steeves, Joseph Woll To AHL

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have returned a pair of players to the minor leagues, sending Alex Steeves and Joseph Woll back to the AHL. Woll’s departure suggests that Ilya Samsonov, whose wife is due to give birth, will be available to start tonight against the New York Islanders.

Woll, 24, is having the best season of his professional career, with a .928 save percentage in 18 appearances with the Toronto Marlies and a .938 in three games with the Maple Leafs. The young netminder has battled through several injuries in the early part of his career, but appears to be turning the corning—at least on the performance side of things—and living up to his billing as a top goaltending prospect.

Steeves, meanwhile, is in his second pro season after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame, and has 17 goals and 45 points in 55 games for the Marlies. That is nearly the exactly same pace as last season, but it has yet to result in consistent NHL playing time. Through six career games, three of which have come this season, Steeves has yet to score a goal with the Maple Leafs.

East Notes: Sabres Injuries, Stamkos, Steeves

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The Buffalo Sabres issued updates on several key injuries this morning. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is still day-to-day with an upper-body injury and did not practice with the team this morning. A few moments later, the team announced that goaltender Eric Comrie is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Fortunately, Mike Harrington of TBN Sports shared a video of Alex Tuch practicing in a regular jersey this morning; he has been out of the lineup since their February 24th game against the Florida Panthers.

Going 4-5-1 in their last ten games, the Sabres are beginning to falter in the Eastern Conference playoff race. After their loss last night, they are now seven points behind the New York Islanders, the current holder of the final wild-card spot. With three games in hand, the Sabres are not out of it yet, but the injuries to the back end will not help their playoff aspirations. On the bright side of things, the potential return of Tuch gives Buffalo the ability to put another point-per-game player back into their lineup. In 57 games this year, Tuch has scored 28 goals and 34 assists, helping create a solid trio with Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner.

Other notes:

  • In an awkward collision into the boards with new Chicago Blackhawks forward Joey Anderson, Steven Stamkos left yesterday’s game with an apparent leg injury. After getting up, Stamkos appeared to be unable to put any pressure on his left leg, hobbling back to the bench. The Tampa Bay Lightning have given no official update as to the status of Stamkos, but the team did report that head coach Jon Cooper believes he will be “OK”, and they kept him out last night’s game as a precaution. With 16 games remaining in the regular season, the Lightning are battling with the Toronto Maple Leafs for home territory in the first round.
  • In a press release this morning, the Maple Leafs announced that forward Alex Steeves has been recalled from their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies, a day after he was demoted to the minors. In 55 games this season with the Marlies, Steeves has scored 17 goals and 28 assists. The Maple Leafs have employed him more sparingly throughout the year, playing in only three games with the NHL club, and averaging just under eight minutes of ice time.

 

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