The Toronto Maple Leafs held their final practice of their regular season opener. Fraser Minten and Noah Gregor earn spots in the opening-night lineup. Jake McCabe is still recovering from a groin injury he sustained last week and the Toronto Maple Leafs' defenseman will be out of the lineup when his club visits the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Thursday. "He may get back on skates tomorrow from what I was told," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of his defenseman. " I was told once he gets back on skates they don’t expect it to be a long time to get back up to speed given he hasn’t missed all that much time." McCabe pulled up in the first shift during Toronto's 4-1 victory against the Dallas Stars on Thursday. He missed Saturday's 3-2 overtime loss against the Nashville Predators on Saturday and the club's 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. If the defenseman gets back on the ice tomorrow there is a slim-to-none chance the 30-year-old could return by the weekend. "I would call it unlikely at this point but we won’t rule it out until he gets on the ice and know exactly how he feels but he’s starting to move into the day-to-day category," Keefe said. The Maple Leafs acquired Jake McCabe from the Chicago Blackhawks on February 27, 2023 along with forward Sam Lafferty (since traded to the Vancouver Canucks for a fifth-round pick), a conditional fifth-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, and a conditional fifth-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft in exchange forwards Joey Anderson, Pavel Gogolev, a conditional first-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft (top ten protected), and a second-round selection in the 2026 NHL Draft. As part of the deal, Chicago agreed to retain 50 percent of McCabe’s salary. Since McCabe sustained his injury. William Lagesson was added to the roster and has been skating on a defense pair with fellow Gothenburg, Sweden native John Klingberg. Veteran defenseman Mark Giordano has moved up to skate in McCabe's pace on a second D-pair with Timothy Liljegren. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNTk1MTUxMDE2NDM2ODQ0/cf1808c0-6a82-4298-9049-3eb2eae105b0.jpg] Related Maple Leafs Forward Auston Matthews Signs Sponsorship Deal with KSI and Logan Paul's Prime Hydration [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/maple-leafs-forward-auston-matthews-signs-sponsorship-deal-with-ksi-and-logan-pauls-prime-hydration] William Nylander's Franchise-Record Points Streak to Start a Season Overshadowed in Maple Leafs' Flat Effort Against Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/william-nylanders-franchise-record-points-streak-to-start-a-season-overshadowed-in-maple-leafs-flat-effort-against-kings] Introducing The Hockey News Archive – 76 Years of History [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/introducing-the-hockey-news-archive-76-years-of-history] News from THN.com Bruins and Golden Knights' Elite Defense Separates Them from the Rest of the NHL [https://thehockeynews.com/news/bruins-and-golden-knights-elite-defense-separates-them-from-the-rest-of-the-nhl] When Will the NHL's Top Rookies Break the Nine-Game Threshold? [https://thehockeynews.com/news/when-will-the-nhls-top-rookies-break-the-nine-game-threshold] The Hockey News Podcast: Re-Evaluating the Calgary Flames Trading Matthew Tkachuk [https://thehockeynews.com/podcast/the-hockey-news-podcast-re-evaluating-the-calgary-flames-trading-matthew-tkachuk]
