Leafs’ Nick Paul out day-to-day with undisclosed injury
The Toronto Maple Leafs are less than a week away from their first game of what promises to be a crucial 2025-26 season, and they may be without one of their newly acquired depth forwards when the puck drops.
New head coach Jim Hiller told reporters, including Arun Srinivasan of The Leafs Nation, on Thursday that veteran forward Nick Paul is being held out of action on a day-to-day basis with an undisclosed injury, but he also said Wednesday that he did not believe the injury to be serious. Paul suffered the injury during Wednesday night’s preseason game against the Ottawa Senators.
As part of Toronto’s roster overhaul this summer spearheaded by new general manager John Chayka and advisor Mats Sundin, the Leafs acquired Paul in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning that sent goalie Dennis Hildeby and a pair of mid-round draft picks the other way.
At six-foot-four, Paul brings some size and physicality to a new-look bottom six that was nearly completely turned over by Chayka. Paul had been skating in camp and the preseason on what figures to be Toronto’s third line alongside Easton Cowan and Colton Sissons.
Paul spent the past four full seasons as a member of the Bolts, putting up 15 points in 51 regular season appearances last year. That represented a noticeable decline in both production and availability, as Paul had been good for no fewer than 32 points or 76 games in the prior three years, which included a career-high of 46 points in the 2023-24 campaign.
The acquisition of Paul was part of a large push from Chayka to both put his stamp on the roster and correct a trend from the previous several seasons under Brad Treliving that saw Toronto’s roster decline until the results bottomed out last year in part due to a considerable rash of injuries.
The Leafs will square off against the Montreal Canadiens on Opening Night next Tuesday, and they will look to get their year started on the right foot against a rival with sky-high expectations.
