Auston Matthews skated with skills consultant Darryl Belfry prior to joining the team’s practice on Tuesday. The Toronto Maple Leafs placed veteran forward Wayne Simmonds on waivers on Monday. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman says he believed it is a paper transaction, however, he is still subject to be claimed by any other team between now and 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The club initially waived Simmonds as part of a final round of cuts before this season started. After he cleared that process, he remained skating with the team, despite technically having the designation as a Toronto Marlies player. On Oct. 16, Simmonds was officially called up to the team. Because the 34-year-old Simmonds has been on the Leafs roster for more than 30 days and 10 games (only has to satisfy one or the other), Simmonds was required to go through waivers again in order to be taken off the team's roster. The Maple Leafs are likely to have Auston Matthews return to the lineup on Wednesday against the Chicago Blackhawks [https://www.si.com/nhl/maple-leafs/news/maple-leafs-auston-matthews-projects-return-to-lineup-based-on-practice-lines]. A roster spot would have to be opened up on the team's 23-man roster to accommodate Matthews' activation from injured reserve. The Leafs could have elected to keep Alex Steeves with the Marlies (he was sent down for one day to play in the Marlies makeup game against the Manitoba Moose on Monday) but have instead elected to go this route. The veteran forward has long resigned to his current role with the club. He has just one assist in 13 games this season and has played in situations where some extra 'leadership'. Simmonds has 34 penalty minutes in those 13 games. For comparison, he had 96 penalty minutes in 72 games with the Maple Leafs in 2021-22.
