The Toronto Maple Leafs practiced on Sunday without a backup goaltender as the team’s roster still remains in flux with prospect Matthew Knies still unsigned.
The Toronto Maple Leafs practiced on Sunday without a backup goaltender as the team’s roster still remains in flux with prospect Matthew Knies still unsigned.
When the Toronto Maple Leafs completed practice on Sunday afternoon, they still didn’t have a clear indication of who their second goaltender would be when they fly down to Florida to kick off their final road trip of the regular season.
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The Maple Leafs entered Sunday with Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray on their active roster. Murray has been sidelined since April 2 with a head injury. On Saturday morning, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that the plan going into the day was for Murray to possibly back up Samsonov against the Montreal Canadiens.
Murray was not cleared to return and University of Toronto goaltender Jett Alexander was signed to an amateur tryout to back up Samsonov in a 7-1 victory against the Montreal Canadiens.
The 28-year-old Murray did not skate on Sunday.
"No change in Murray's status, at this point he won't travel with us," Keefe said.
The sequence of events allowed the Maple Leafs to technically play short at the position, allowing a temporary exception to the salary cap room in the event they were to sign the University of Minnesota forward Matthew Knies to an entry-level contract.
Knies' Golden Gophers lost in heartbreaking fashion, a 3-2 overtime decision to the Quinnipiac Bobcats in the Frozen Four Final on Saturday.
According to multiple reports, Knies elected to fly back with his team to Minnesota, instead of opting to stay in the state of Florida where the Maple Leafs will play their next two games.
As of Sunday afternoon, Knies is still unsigned and that appears to have complicated the Maple Leafs' plans for Monday when they take on the Florida Panthers.
"I'm not quite sure and there is a lot happening with that," Keefe said when asked if Joseph Woll would return on the team's upcoming road trip. "The roster status is up in the air at this point."
Samsonov was the only NHL goaltender who took part in practice and was mostly taking part in a one-on-one session with goaltending coach Curtis Sanford. The Leafs had five other goaltenders take part in the session that were not NHL-eligible.
In terms of how the Maple Leafs will plan their remaining week with or without Knies, Keefe is not concerned about getting the forward up to speed.
"We'll see if and when we have to deal with that but I haven't thought about that a great deal at this point," Keefe said. "He and his camp have some decisions to make and when those decisions are made we'll proceed accordingly. But right now I'm, just focusing on the guys that are here."
UPDATE: At 4:09 p.m. ET on Sunday, TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger reports that Knies has signed his contract with the Maple Leafs.
With Knies registered, the Maple Leaf will send Simmonds down to the Marlies while calling up goaltender Joseph Woll on an emergency basis under a salary-cap exception.
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