- Outside of placing Max Domi on injured reserve today, the Toronto Maple Leafs have also moved forward David Kämpf to the long-term injured reserve (X Link). The team placed Kämpf on the injured reserve yesterday (retroactive to November 16th) with a lower-body injury and today’s transaction will remove his $2.4MM from the equation. Toronto is projected to possess $2.313MM in cap space at the deadline and won’t accrue any more until activating multiple players from the LTIR.
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Maple Leafs Rumors
Maple Leafs Place Max Domi On IR, Recall Nikita Grebenkin
The Maple Leafs announced that they’ve placed center Max Domi on injured reserve with a lower-body ailment retroactive to Nov. 16. They recalled winger Nikita Grebenkin from AHL Toronto in a corresponding transaction, marking the first of his career.
Domi, 29, will miss tonight’s game against the Golden Knights but will be eligible to come off IR for the following game, a Sunday tilt against Utah. He’s been a rare sight at practice recently as he played through the lower-body injury, but it’s now advanced enough to require him to sit out.
It explains the lack of production from Domi, who’s now gone 13 games without a point despite playing top-six minutes for most of the month with captain Auston Matthews on the shelf. After signing a four-year, $15MM extension in June, the Winnipeg native has no goals on 24 shots and six assists in 19 games this season, producing at a career-low pace across the board despite averaging about 90 more seconds per game of ice time than last season.
Domi becomes the sixth regular forward who won’t be available for tonight’s game. Matthews has been on IR for nearly two weeks, Max Pacioretty was shifted to LTIR yesterday as he recovers from a hamstring injury, Calle Järnkrok remains on LTIR after undergoing groin and sports hernia surgery on Monday, David Kämpf landed on IR yesterday with a lower-body issue, and Ryan Reaves is ineligible to play while serving the first game of a five-game suspension that will keep him out through the rest of the month.
Despite the absence of their captain and a considerable amount of depth scoring, the surging Leafs are 7-2-1 in their past 10 games and are only one point back of the Panthers for first place in the Atlantic Division. While they’re understandably scoring less than last season, their record has much to do with some improved team defense – they’re allowing 6.7 high-danger scoring chances per game at 5-on-5 compared to 8.0 in 2023-24. It also has a lot to do with spectacular play in the early going from free-agent signing Anthony Stolarz between the pipes, who leads the league with a .927 SV% and is on pace for 52 starts, smashing his career-high of 24 set last year with the Panthers.
Unfortunately, the pace of the injury bug is accelerating. Domi, Kämpf, and Reaves are all out after playing in Toronto’s last game, an overtime win over the Oilers last weekend. That means Fraser Minten will make his season debut after being recalled yesterday as the corresponding transaction for Kämpf’s IR placement. At the same time, Grebenkin will make his NHL debut instead of Domi tonight.
Grebenkin, 21, was a fifth-round selection by the Leafs in the 2022 draft. The 6’2″, 209-lb Russian winger gained some attention with a strong training camp, and he’s kept up the momentum in his first season in North America, as Steven Ellis profiled for Leafs Nation earlier this month.
Through his first 13 AHL games, Grebenkin has four goals and six assists for 10 points, tied for second on the Marlies in scoring with veteran Logan Shaw. He’s also yet to take a penalty and has a +1 rating.
Grebenkin is coming off a standout season in his home country with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League. He tied for second on the team in scoring with 41 points (19 G, 22 A) in 67 games after being named the KHL’s best rookie the year prior, playing a pivotal role as they won the league’s championship trophy, the Gagarin Cup.
However, it’s still unclear who will replace Domi at center tonight. It won’t be Grebenkin, who can play either left or right wing but isn’t a natural pivot. It may, however, be Mitch Marner, who head coach Craig Berube said yesterday was open to the shift to the middle from the wing if necessary (via Luke Fox of Sportsnet).
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Max Pacioretty Shifted To LTIR
- While not a direct paper transaction, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the Maple Leafs have transferred winger Max Pacioretty to LTIR, freeing up the cap space for today’s recall of Fraser Minten. Pacioretty suffered a lower-body injury on November 9th and must now miss at least 10 games and 24 days from that point.
Maple Leafs Place David Kämpf On IR, Recall Fraser Minten
The Maple Leafs announced Tuesday that they’ve placed center David Kämpf on injured reserve with a lower-body ailment retroactive to Nov. 16. In a corresponding transaction, they recalled forward prospect Fraser Minten from AHL Toronto, keeping their active roster size at a maximum of 23.
Kämpf, 29, has played in all but one of Toronto’s 19 games this season. His absence wasn’t due to injury; instead, he was a healthy scratch against the Blue Jackets on Oct. 22.
It’s unclear if Kämpf sustained the injury in the Leafs’ last outing, an overtime win over the Oilers on Saturday, or if he’d been playing through it for multiple games. He didn’t miss a shift against Edmonton and has logged at least 14 minutes of ice time in his last four contests.
Kämpf is in the second season of the four-year, $9.6MM extension he signed days before the unrestricted free-agent market opened in 2023. Lauded far more for his competency in the faceoff dot and on the penalty kill than his even-strength impacts, the Czechia native is coming off his worst season in Toronto since arriving as a free agent in 2021. Kämpf’s 11 assists, 19 points and -4 rating in 78 games were his lowest totals as a Maple Leaf, as were his 79 shots on goal, 13:29 ATOI and 50.9 FO%.
While Kämpf has improved up to a 53.6% rate in the dot, it’s been more of the same everywhere else in 2024-25. He’s yet to score a goal and has three assists and a -2 rating, averaging 12:18 per game. He’s still influential on the penalty kill, but for a player who receives little to no offensive zone usage at even strength, $2.4MM per season is a significant salary cap commitment.
The retroactive placement means Kämpf has already been out for three of the seven days required for IR. He’ll miss Wednesday’s game against the Golden Knights but will be eligible to return for Sunday’s contest against Utah.
The news means the Maple Leafs will be down two of their regular four centers when they take on Vegas tomorrow. Captain Auston Matthews is expected to miss his seventh straight game as he remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, David Alter of The Hockey News reported Monday.
While the Leafs have more than a few players on their roster who could shift from wing to center, including Connor Dewar, Pontus Holmberg, or William Nylander, they don’t have an extra forward available on the active roster to slide into the lineup to replace Kämpf. Unless head coach Craig Berube opts to deploy 11 forwards and seven defensemen tomorrow against the Knights, Minten will make his season debut.
Minten, 20, was the Maple Leafs’ first selection in the 2022 draft, coming off the board early in the second round at 38th overall. He was expected to challenge for a job on the opening night roster in training camp this year, but a high ankle sprain sustained in rookie camp kept him on the shelf until late October.
Since being activated from season-opening injured reserve and assigned to the AHL, the 6’2″ pivot has two goals and two assists for four points with a +4 rating in five games. Minten got a brief taste of NHL hockey early last season as a 19-year-old, posting zeroes across the board while averaging 11:26 per game before being returned to his major junior team.
In his fourth and final season of WHL hockey in 2023-24, split between the Kamloops Blazers and Saskatoon Blades, Minten had 22 goals and 26 assists for 48 points with a +18 rating in 43 games. He also captained Canada at the 2024 World Junior Championship, posting a goal and two assists in five outings.
Auston Matthews Will Miss Seventh Straight Game
- According to David Alter of The Hockey News, Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews is expected to miss his seventh straight game on Wednesday. Alter interestingly adds that Matthews hasn’t been skating the past couple of days but the organization assures he hasn’t taken a step back in his recovery. Toronto has earned a 5-1-0 record since Matthews exited the lineup on November 3rd.
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Maple Leafs’ Calle Järnkrok Undergoes Groin, Sports Hernia Surgery
The Maple Leafs announced that forward Calle Järnkrok underwent groin and sports hernia surgery on Monday. He will remain out of the lineup indefinitely and will be evaluated monthly.
Järnkrok, 33, has spent the entire season on long-term injured reserve with what the team previously labeled a lower-body injury. General manager Brad Treliving said last week that Järnkrok had left Toronto after experiencing a setback in his recovery and was seeing a specialist in New York.
That meeting evidently resulted in the decision for Järnkrok to undergo surgery to repair the issue, which he sustained early in training camp. Recovery timelines from sports hernia surgery vary but usually fall somewhere in the four-month range, so while there’s still a chance for him to play this season, it likely won’t be until after the March 7 trade deadline.
Järnkrok has been plagued by injuries since signing a four-year, $8.4MM contract with the Maple Leafs in free agency in 2022. He missed 30 games last season with two different hand injuries and also missed a couple of weeks in December 2022 with a groin injury, although it’s unclear if that’s related to the current groin issue that required surgery.
When in the lineup, the versatile Swede has been an effective depth presence. He’s averaged 0.48 points per game in a Toronto uniform, a tad higher than his 0.43 career average. He averaged 15:16 in 52 appearances last season, recording 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points while averaging more than a minute per game on both the power play and penalty kill.
While the Maple Leafs will continue to miss a capable veteran presence with a well-rounded game who can slot in pretty much anywhere in the lineup, they will continue to gain relief from his $2.1MM cap hit while on LTIR. Toronto currently has $731,562 left in their LTIR pool with a full roster, per PuckPedia, although that number will increase when Auston Matthews and Max Pacioretty come off standard injured reserve.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Maple Leafs’ Ryan Reaves Suspended Five Games
3:04 p.m.: The league’s Department of Player Safety announced a five-game suspension for Reaves.
9:04 a.m.: The NHL has announced that Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves will have a player safety hearing for his illegal hit on Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse in last night’s 4-3 overtime win. Reaves was assessed a match penalty and a game misconduct on the play after his shoulder caught Nurse in the head as the Oilers defenseman circled behind his own net with the puck. It’s a phone hearing, not an in-person one, so his pending suspension won’t last more than five games.
Nurse hit the ice hard after the hit and appeared stunned as he looked around. Blood began to pour from a sizeable cut on Nurse’s head as the Oilers training staff attended to him. He remained on the ice for a few moments before he was assisted off the ice. The hit occurred at the 2:41 mark of the second period, leaving the crowd in silence as Nurse left the game and did not return. Reaves was escorted off the ice and had a heated verbal exchange with Oilers captain Connor McDavid before he exited the game.
The league has an interesting decision to make with regard to Reaves, the initial point of contact on the hit is Nurse’s head and it would meet the definition of a blindside hit. The Department of Player Safety will consider an illegal check to the head suspension but does retain the right to change course when they review the infraction.
Reaves does have a history of supplemental discipline during his career, having last been suspended during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs while he was a member of the Vegas Golden Knights. Reaves caught a two-game suspension for roughing and was also suspended one game during the 2020 postseason for an illegal hit to the head against Tyler Motte of the Vancouver Canucks. Reaves was also suspended three games back in 2016 for boarding.
As for Nurse, his status has yet to be updated, but he is out right now with an upper-body injury. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweeted that he’s heard from Oilers play-by-play announcer Jack Michaels that Nurse was joking with the team’s trainers and walking around after the game, which is certainly encouraging.
Matthews' Injury Showing Toronto's Need For Center Depth
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been without captain Auston Matthews for almost two weeks with a lower-body injury. Sportsnet’s Luke Fox argued that Matthews’ prolonged absence has opened some eyes in Toronto regarding the team’s center depth.
Toronto essentially moved every center up a line with John Tavares and Max Domi manning the top two lines. Fox believes that the Maple Leafs must upgrade their third line, which has usually been centered by Domi this season. He’s only managed six assists in 18 games this season and hasn’t scored a goal in the regular since April 6th, 2024.
If general manager Brad Treliving concurs with the assessment the team will have some options available for trade. Fox lists Brock Nelson, Mikael Granlund, Frank Vatrano, Nick Bjugstad, and Jake Evans as the likeliest options for the Maple Leafs to pursue with the former being undeniably the best option.
- Moving back to Toronto, defenseman Dakota Mermis skated this morning before practice according to David Alter of The Hockey News. Mermis, who has been on the team’s LTIR while recovering from jaw surgery, signed a one-year, $775K contract with the Maple Leafs this past offseason.
Maple Leafs Reassign Philippe Myers On Conditioning Loan
The Maple Leafs announced Saturday that they’ve assigned defenseman Philippe Myers to AHL Toronto on a conditioning loan.
Myers, 27, will remain on Toronto’s active roster and count against the salary cap while getting his first minor-league action of the season. He can remain on the AHL assignment for up to two weeks before he must be reinstated or placed on waivers.
The 6’5″ Myers was a surprise inclusion on the Leafs’ opening night roster after spending most of the past two seasons in the minors. He signed a one-year, one-way deal for $775K in free agency last summer after spending two campaigns in the Lightning organization, totaling 52 points in 113 games for their AHL affiliate in Syracuse but making just 16 NHL appearances in fringe action.
Unfortunately for the New Brunswick native, the roster spot hasn’t led to playing time. He’s been a healthy scratch for all but one of the Maple Leafs’ 18 games this season, logging a -1 rating and one hit in his sole appearance against the Bruins on Oct. 26 while skating 12:11.
The conditioning loan will allow Myers some AHL time without clearing waivers, but it’s still hard to imagine him avoiding the wire for much longer. Toronto will need to clear two roster spots when Auston Matthews or Max Pacioretty is ready to come off injured reserve, which will likely be achieved by waiving him and reassigning forward Alex Steeves after the latter’s recent call-up.
Interestingly, it won’t be Myers’ first time suiting up for the Marlies despite him not being affiliated with the Maple Leafs organization before this season. He had seven points in 16 games for them in 2021-22 while on loan from the Predators.
The right-shot defenseman has played 159 NHL games with Philadelphia, Nashville, Tampa Bay and Toronto, recording eight goals and 28 assists for 36 points. He’s only avoided an AHL assignment in a season once in his career, appearing in 44 of 56 games for the Flyers during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.
Maple Leafs Activate Jani Hakanpää From Long-Term Injured Reserve
The Maple Leafs announced Wednesday that they’ve reinstated defenseman Jani Hakanpää from his conditioning loan and activated him from long-term injured reserve. He’s expected to make his Toronto debut tonight against the Capitals.
It’s been a long road back for Hakanpää, who last played an NHL game on March 16 with the Stars before a knee injury ended his season. The 32-year-old reportedly had arthroscopic surgery over the summer before agreeing to terms on a two-year, $3MM contract.
But weeks came and went without the Maple Leafs registering the deal. That’s because Hakanpää and Toronto’s medical staff had a difference of opinion on what type of rehabilitation he still needed for his knee before they would clear him to play. After more than two months of additional discussions, the two sides finally put pen to paper on a one-year, $1.47MM contract with an eight-team no-trade list.
That didn’t mean Hakanpää was healthy, though, and he skated only briefly during camp and started the season on long-term injured reserve as expected. He was assigned to AHL Toronto on a conditioning loan at the beginning of the month, posting zeros across the board in two appearances – his first minor-league action since the 2019-20 season.
While all signs point to him playing tonight, it’s unclear who he’ll replace. Given he’s a right-shot defender, though, it’ll likely be Conor Timmins heading to the press box. The 26-year-old sitting as a healthy scratch is a good problem to have for Toronto, though. He’s done quite well in a third-pairing role this season, posting four points and a +5 rating through 15 games while controlling 52.4% of shot attempts at even strength.
Hakanpää, who checks in at 6’6″ and 225 lbs, has been a serviceable fringe top-four option with the Stars for the past three years and routinely was among the league’s leaders in hits. The 2022-23 campaign saw him record career-highs across the board with six goals, 16 points, a +18 rating, 128 blocks, and 86 shots on goal while averaging 19:20 per game.
The Maple Leafs had an open roster spot after assigning Matt Benning to the minors yesterday, so no corresponding transaction is required.