Toronto Maple Leafs superstar center Auston Matthews took the ice for the club's optional morning skate on Saturday. But when will he return to game action? The Toronto Maple Leafs must address Ryan Reaves' absence in the 20-man lineup following his five-game suspension handed down by the NHL's Department of Player Safety on Sunday. Regardless of their approach, they face additional challenges due to roster inflexibility. With Reaves receiving supplemental discipline for his illegal check to the head of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse, he will remain on the 23-man active roster despite being unavailable to play. One straightforward option for the Leafs is to insert Alex Steeves into the lineup. The 24-year-old forward has appeared in one game since being called up last week, but this would still leave the Leafs with the minimum 12 forwards. Currently, the Leafs are defense-heavy on their roster. Philippe Myers, loaned to the Toronto Marlies for a conditioning stint ahead of two weekend games, remains on the 23-man roster as per the conditions of the loan. To free up space for another forward, the Leafs would likely need to make a move involving waivers to send a player down. "He definitely will be practicing with us tomorrow. And he's a guy that can, you know, get in the lineup for sure," coach Berube said of Steeves. "But we also, we might need another guy. But we've got to look at it here." If they avoid that route, merely subbing in Steeves might not sufficiently address the team’s needs, especially with players like Max Domi bangled up and Auston Matthews entering his third week dealing with an upper-body injury. Domi hasn't missed time but has required maintenance days during the last two practices and he's mired in a career-long 13-game points drought. Would it make more sense to send Steeves down and instead call up 20-year-old center Fraser Minten to support Domi and the need for more center depth? Minten missed all of training camp with a high-ankle sprain but has since returned to action with the Toronto Marlies, tallying two goals and two assists in five games this season. The Leafs only have six 5-on-5 goals and sit 30th of 32 teams in that stat category since Matthews was sidelined with an upper-body injury. "We've got to look at what's best for us and then what's best for him," Berube said about Minten. "It's a conversation. But he's a good player. We all know that. And he's playing well down there already. So we'll see what happens." Minten broke into the NHL last season, earning a roster spot out of training camp. He played four games as the club’s third-line center before returning to junior hockey. With another year of experience, Matthews sidelined with an upper-body injury, and Domi playing through issues, this might be the perfect opportunity to reassess Minten’s readiness for the NHL.
