The Marlies set off on an eight-game road trip on Thursday and won't return home until Feb. 2.
The Toronto Maple Leafs sent defenseman Marshall Rifai back to the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday, signalling that one of their defenders could return soon.
The 26-year-old hasn't played a game with the Maple Leafs this season. He's been up and down between the NHL and AHL, playing 26 games with the Marlies this year. He has two goals and two assists in that span.
Rifai signed a two-year, $1.55 million contract extension with the Maple Leafs on Sept. 5. The annual average value of that deal is $775,000. He played two NHL games with Toronto last season and averaged 11:40 of ice time.
Toronto announced the move an hour before their practice inside Ford Performance Centre.
Jake McCabe has missed four games since fighting Philadelphia Flyers forward Garnet Hathway on Jan. 5. The veteran defenseman skated in practice with the team earlier this week, however, left the skate after about 10 minutes.
TSN's Darren Dreger mentioned on Tuesday after Toronto's 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars that McCabe could return to the lineup as soon as Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.
"Now there is some good news in the near future," Dreger said. "I doubt that (McCabe's) going to play against the Devils on Thursday. More than likely against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. And I think for the coaching staff, they'll be pretty happy to get him back into the mix."
This isn't the first time McCabe has missed time with an injury this season. In December, he was absent from Toronto's lineup for five games after taking a puck to the head on Nov. 30 from Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Nick Perbix.
He returned to the Maple Leafs lineup on Dec. 12 against the Anaheim Ducks.
The Maple Leafs have won just one game in their last four games and have outscored 15-7 in that span, with McCabe out of the lineup.
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