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2024-25 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion

This is going to be rough
 
I'm surprised they wouldn't put Dewar on IR (he'd be eligible to come off after the Ottawa game so he wouldn't miss any extra time if he's healthy after that) so they could call up another forward whether it's Steeves or Grebenkin or Nylander to play over Reaves.

But yeah that's a rough looking line-up with all the injuries piling up again.

edit: technically they would have to put someone else on LTIR to make cap space for an additional player but Stolarz is already past the 24 day and 10 game mark since his injury. Tavares could also be placed on LTIR and be eligible to return after the 4 nations break which is almost certainly the earliest we'll see him again at this point.
 
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I missed this little bit of news yesterday. There's 2 weeks and 6 games left before the break now. Normally you probably wouldn't want one of your injured players playing in this tournament but this actually probably benefits the Leafs with Hakanpaa.

Best case scenario he's going to be able to use this tournament as basically a second training camp. He can shake off the rust and get fully up to speed while playing against pretty high competition and hopefully be ready to contribute to the Leafs in the stretch run. Worst case, and lets be kinda honest more likely, scenario is that he's either too limited in his movement now to play high end hockey or it's too difficult to play through the pain he might be in or he just re-injures himself again. But at least if something like that happens I suspect Hakanpaa would make the logical decision to call it quits, at least in North America, and the Leafs will have some certainty in regards to his contract/availability going into the trade deadline.

edit: I also wonder if the Leafs don't take him off LTIR so he could play a couple of games prior to the break would the NHL be ok with him being on it during the tournament.
 
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CarltonTheBear said:

I missed this little bit of news yesterday. There's 2 weeks and 6 games left before the break now. Normally you probably wouldn't want one of your injured players playing in this tournament but this actually probably benefits the Leafs with Hakanpaa.

Best case scenario he's going to be able to use this tournament as basically a second training camp. He can shake off the rust and get fully up to speed while playing against pretty high competition and hopefully be ready to contribute to the Leafs in the stretch run. Worst case, and lets be kinda honest more likely, scenario is that he's either too limited in his movement now to play high end hockey or it's too difficult to play through the pain he might be in or he just re-injures himself again. But at least if something like that happens I suspect Hakanpaa would make the logical decision to call it quits, at least in North America, and the Leafs will have some certainty in regards to his contract/availability going into the trade deadline.

edit: I also wonder if the Leafs don't take him off LTIR so he could play a couple of games prior to the break would the NHL be ok with him being on it during the tournament.
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Wonder if there may be some shenanigans going on with LTIR.
 
 
okay, so in this video we learn that:
a) there indeed are no brain cells firing in there :)
b) Knies is a left handed left shot (similar to how Nylander and Marner are right handed right shots)

 
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ZBBM said:
Kinda crazy we even are.
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When you look at the injuries we have had and the schedule being compressed to hell, it's baffling.

Matthews - 15 games (plus being ineffective in another 6-7)
Tavares - 6 games (and counting plus was ineffective with illness for a couple of weeks at the start of the year)
McMann - 8 games
Domi - 8 games and was clearly playing hurt for most of November
McCabe - 9 games
Kampf - 12 games
Goaltending - 8 games from Hildeby/Murray
 

NAK went from Colorado (where he played well) to Toronto (where he did not play well) to Washington (where he played well) and then to Buffalo (where he did not play well).

I wonder if the Leafs consider a claim here at all even if it's just a temporary fix while a bunch of forwards are injured.

edit: actually feel free to ignore this completely, didn't realize his AAV was $1.5mil jeeze.
 
I find myself wondering why they don't just bite the bullet and bring Steeves up and give him a real shot. The guy is scoring goals at a similar rate to what Bobby McMann did his last year with the Marlies. Surely he has to be a better option than Minten, Quillan, Grebenkin...maybe even Holmberg? I know he is not waiver-exempt but the guy has earned a chance. He'll probably leave the organization at the end of the year anyway to seek an NHL opportunity with another team.
 
Chris said:
I find myself wondering why they don't just bite the bullet and bring Steeves up and give him a real shot. The guy is scoring goals at a similar rate to what Bobby McMann did his last year with the Marlies. Surely he has to be a better option than Minten, Quillan, Grebenkin...maybe even Holmberg? I know he is not waiver-exempt but the guy has earned a chance. He'll probably leave the organization at the end of the year anyway to seek an NHL opportunity with another team.
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MLHS wondered the same thing:

https://mapleleafshotstove.com/2025/01/27/maple-leafs-notebook-auston-matthews-crowd-noise-injury-issues-morgan-rielly-alex-steeves/ said:
2. I don’t understand why Alex Steeves isn’t up with the Leafs right now. He’s leading the entire AHL in goals and has played fewer games than the next 19 highest goal scorers in the league. He played four games with the Leafs and went pointless, but he took credible shifts and did not look anywhere near out of place as he averaged 11:01 per game.

While they might lose Steeves to waivers later on, he’s also set to be a group-6 UFA this summer, so really, does it matter? I am sure they are mindful of keeping the Marlies competitive, and he would be a massive loss for them, but the organization as a whole is at a point where the Leafs are the priority.

If multiple players are about to return for the next game, it’s a bit more understandable, but Steeves lighting it up while Jacob Quillan looks out of his depth playing 5:21 and Fraser Minten plays 5:43 is not helping anyone involved. Steeves has shown he can take a regular NHL shift, and he is buzz-sawing through the AHL.

Even if just one player returns for the Leafs, Steeves should come back up, and all the kids – including Nikita Grebenkin – should go back down to play top minutes and work on their games in the right environment.
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CarltonTheBear said:
Respectfully, this would be an insane worry to have about your like 15/16 forward who might have the value of a 7th round draft pick.
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It's a strange situation - the guy has done everything needed at the AHL level yet other less experienced players keep getting the call. What are they saving him for? As you note, he can't have much trade value at this point, and he becomes a UFA at the end of the year (I think). Maybe he likes the organization but I can't imagine him not looking elsewhere for an NHL opportunity if he's not getting it here.

Maybe management has just decided he hasn't shown enough in his brief NHL stints but it took McMann a while to get it going at the NHL level. This just seems like it would have been the perfect time to give him a serious run in the lineup.
 
Chris said:
It's a strange situation - the guy has done everything needed at the AHL level yet other less experienced players keep getting the call. What are they saving him for? As you note, he can't have much trade value at this point, and he becomes a UFA at the end of the year (I think). Maybe he likes the organization but I can't imagine him not looking elsewhere for an NHL opportunity if he's not getting it here.

Maybe management has just decided he hasn't shown enough in his brief NHL stints but it took McMann a while to get it going at the NHL level. This just seems like it would have been the perfect time to give him a serious run in the lineup.
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It took McMann a while because they gave him 4th line ice time with guidance to play a 4th line role. Similarly, Steeves came up and hit everything in sight to trying to catch on in a 4th line role this season - but that is not his complete game or the part that he excels at. During McMann's first preseason, I thought Steeves wasn't far behind him. If they want to continue to attract AHL depth, players that earn a shot should get one. I suspect Steeves has earned a better look that he's received. However, I haven't seen the Marlies live yet this year and I'm not at the practices, etc. So I cannot be too certain of my position. It would seem fitting after his record setting to see him get a few NHL games on the 3rd line ...
 
I haven't seen him with the Marlies either but his stat line is fantastic...22 goals, 15 assists in 31 games, +12. In contrast McMann was 21 goals, 8 assists in 30 games his last "full" AHL season. McMann is a bit bigger and faster. I do have to say that Steeves hasn't really impressed me all that much when I've seen him in the NHL whereas when I first saw McMann I thought he belonged. So maybe he's just one of those "too good for the AHL but not good enough for the NHL" guys. I guess time will tell.
 
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