The Toronto Maple Leafs were primed to make some sort of moves as a couple of players are ready to come off long-term injured reserve. The AHL has handed Ryan Tverberg a one-game suspension, three days after the Toronto Marlies fell 4-2 to the Cleveland Monsters on Saturday. Tverberg will miss next Saturday's game against the Charlotte Checkers, the Florida Panthers' AHL affiliate. The 22-year-old is in the second year of a three-year, entry-level contract he signed on Mar. 15, 2023. The 2020 seventh-round (213th overall) pick by the Maple Leafs has tallied five assists through eight games with the Marlies this season. On Saturday in Cleveland, the 22-year-old forward was on the right wing alongside Nikita Grebenkin and Connor Dewar. Dewar and Jani Hakanpaa started the season on long-term injured reserve and joined the AHL squad on a conditioning stint last week. Dewar had Toronto's first goal against the Monsters, coming out of the penalty box after a tripping penalty and scoring on the breakaway. According to TSN's Chris Johnston, who appeared on First Up with Aaron Korolnek and Carlo Colaiacovo, Dewar and Hakanpaa could extend their conditioning loan with the Marlies. "There's a possibility, I would think, that [the conditioning loan] runs again through this coming weekend and they get a chance to play more AHL games, just because both players have obviously had extended layoffs here [due to injuries]," Johnston said. "If they're going to activate those guys, it doesn't mean it has to be in the next 24-48 hours because there is the option to extend those [conditioning] loans. But, I would think, absolute worst case, they're probably going to put someone on waivers. "Philippe Myers, for example, has dressed for one game this season. I think he'd be a strong candidate. It sounds like they're trying to move Matt Benning, who they acquired in the Timothy Liljegren deal last week. We'll just have to see how things shake out here, but the roster crunch is certainly coming." Dewar and Hakanpaa can have their conditioning loan extended by two more games, only if the Maple Leafs and the two players agree. If that occurs, we could see both players in one, or two games, this weekend in Charlotte. Tverberg will be eligible to return from his suspension for Toronto's game against the Checkers on Sunday.
