Maple Leafs Send Cole McWard Back To Marlies And A Look At Their Current Roster For The Week Ahead

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a very minor move to their roster on Sunday by returning defenseman Cole McWard to the Toronto Marlies. Following the successful return and activation of defenseman Chris Tanev in Toronto’s 4-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, McWard’s return to the Marlies isn’t a surprise.

But what the move does do is reduce the current active roster from 23 to 22, leaving a spot open if the Leafs need it.

The club begins a six-game homestand on Tuesday when they host the Utah Mammoth. There should be some updates on other players Toronto currently has on its injured reserve. John Tavares, who sustained a lower-body injury on Oct. 15 against the Buffalo Sabres, will enter his third week of recovery. Kirill Marchenko (lower-body) and Miles Wood (undisclosed) are still recovering from injuries, as are defensemen Nick Blankenburg (upper-body) and Marshall Rifai (lower-body). 

With 22 players on the active roster, the Leafs would have room to activate someone if any of them are ready. But if not, the spot could be used later in the week when the Leafs host a pair of games on back-to-back nights, beginning on Nov. 7 against the Montreal Canadiens and the following night against the New Jersey Devils.

The Leafs used the additional roster spot to call up goaltender Artur Akhtyamov, who served as a backup in back-to-back games a few weeks ago when the club took on the San Jose Sharks at home followed by the Columbus Blue Jackets on the road. That allowed the Leafs to give their goaltenders Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz the full night off in games they did not start. It’s likely the Leafs may adopt this strategy again, especially since it yielded them back-to-back victories, and kicked off a season-high four game winning streak.

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