Marshall Rifai sustained a significant injury in the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-2 pre-season win against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said the player will require wrist surgery.

It’s unclear exactly what took place that resulted in the injury, but it’s a significant setback for the depth defenseman, who could have been one of the team’s first batch of call-ups. Toronto’s top-six defensemen from last season have returned this season, not leaving much room for open spots. The Leafs called Rifai up a few times last season but never got into game action.

Why the Maple Leafs Signed Defenseman Marshall Rifai to a Two-Year Extension Rifai is entering the second year of a similar deal — a two-year, two-way contract with an AAV of $775,000 — he signed in July 2023.

After starting with the Toronto Marlies, the Leafs signed Rifai to a two-year, entry-level contract. In the 2023-24 season, he made his Leafs debut, appearing in two NHL games. Before the beginning of the 2024-25 season, the Leafs signed Rifai to a two-year extension worth $775,000 per season. The one-way nature of the deal showed Toronto’s commitment to the depth defenseman. Rifai had three goals and 10 assists with the Toronto Marlies last season.

Domi Remains On First Line As Projected Opening Night Lineup Takes Shape

The Toronto Maple Leafs practiced with one main group, mostly comprising projected NHL players, giving a glimpse of what the opening-night lineup might look like. The key takeaway was seeing Max Domi remain on the top line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. Matias Maccelli, who had been on the top line as Domi recovered from a lower-body injury, moved down to the third line with Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy.

Maple Leafs' Craig Berube Gives Ideal Outlook On Good Season For Max Domi Max Domi is feeling good after <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/maple-leafs-provide-update-on-playing-status-of-max-domi-simon-benoit-and-nicolas-roy">missing the beginning of Toronto Maple Leafs training camp</a> with a lower-body injury.

“I thought he had a good game last night. I thought he got pucks in traffic,” Berube said of Maccelli’s pre-season game against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. “I really liked on the PP, he's walking downhill ripping pucks, you know, from, you know, the half wall and stuff. So he's got a good shot. I just want to keep reinforcing him to use that shot as much as possible.”

Domi is likely to get into Toronto’s pre-season game against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. Domi has yet to play in a game after opening camp with a lower-body injury.

Benoit Skates with the Leafs

Simon Benoit was back on the ice as the defenseman continues to recover from an upper-body injury. He was wearing a red non-contact jersey, skating on the fourth defense pair with Henry Thrun.

“He'll skate with us in the morning group again tomorrow with the game group,” Berube said of Benoit.

Why the Leafs Skated as One Main Group

Despite practicing as a main group, the Leafs have not completely trimmed down their training camp roster yet. Berube said it was done so that the Leafs could work on power plays and special teams. The Leafs will return to practicing in two divided groups on Saturday.

The special teams units are starting to take shape, without any real surprises on the power play. Of note, Easton Cowan did take some reps on PP2 as Toronto’s top prospect tries to push his way onto the Leafs’ roster.

Meanwhile, there are four pairs of forwards that are likely to be rotated throughout the season.

William Nylander is a notable inclusion. After getting some PK time in 2023-24, the forward saw that role diminished until he advocated for more ice. Even then, it didn’t last very long.

“Sacrifice is a big part of it,” Berube said when asked what it would take for Nylander to earn more time on the penalty kill. “It's your PK routes, doing the right things... it's working the routes and the system is really important, but it's effort and it's sacrifice. That's penalty kill all day long”.

The only issue is the Leafs have a lot of penalty-kill specialists with the addition of Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy. Scott Laughton has also been making a push for more penalty-kill time. Combine that with Matthews and Knies, and it may be difficult for Nylander to get some time in there. Of note, Calle Jarnkrok and David Kampf, both known for their defensive play, did not take penalty-kill reps, which speaks to their placing in the Leafs’ plans at the moment.

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